


Broken

by LightNS



Series: Light Shines Bright Through [1]
Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans (Comics), Teen Titans - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-03 20:20:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 49,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17290745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightNS/pseuds/LightNS
Summary: Garfield was curious, really curious. He wanted to learn more about her. He wanted to know her story. He wanted to know why she appeared so closed off. He wanted to know how she’d look when she smiled. He wanted to hear the undoubtedly heavenly sound of her laughter. Did she even laugh? Maybe she’d laugh at one of his jokes? That seemed too optimistic. Regardless, Garfield wanted to know more about her.And when Garfield wanted something, he did everything in his power to acquire it.High School BBRae AU





	1. One

# Broken

**The New Girl**

“Garfield Logan!”

“Uh… Yes, Ms. Evans?”

“You’re late. For the third time this week…”

Garfield sheepishly scratched the back of his neck as he stood at the classroom entrance. He heard a few giggles from some of the girls and hushed whispers no doubt spreading false rumors about his excuse. Then again, he didn’t have an excuse.

“I, uh…” he stuttered, trying to devise a believable lie for his tardiness. Though, he had never been any good at devising anything that wasn’t a clever prank or an amusing joke.

“Well, Mr. Logan? I’m waiting…” Ms. Evans crossed her arms and observed him attentively.

“I…” his eyes glanced around the room in a desperate measure to find something, anything, that could give him a valid excuse. From the window, he saw an elderly lady waiting on the sidewalk to cross the street. A light bulb switched on inside his head. “Would you believe me if I told you that I was helping an old lady cross the street?”

There were a few snickers from some of his peers who quickly quieted down when his strict English teacher glared at them. Ms. Evans turned to eye Garfield down. He swore that she was envisioning lasers shooting out of her eyes hoping to terminate him on the spot. Good thing that didn’t happen. Garfield was young, and he didn’t want his life to end by a dumb tardy excuse. He could already see the words carved into his gravestone: _‘Garfield Mark Logan, brutally murdered by his English teacher on his second week of Junior year.’_

“Detention after school. Make sure to bring your reading assignment cause you’ll be finishing that during your extra hour stay. Now go sit down,” Ms. Evans muttered. Then, she turned back to the board to write their assignment for the day.

Garfield exhaled the long breath he’d been holding in. Thankfully, his life wouldn’t end today, hopefully anyway. He walked to his seat in the back and high-fived a few guys on the way there. He didn’t mean to brag, but he was a _tad bit_ popular in his grade. A few girls giggled as he sent them his signature, mischievous grin. Alright, so he was a jock, but there wasn’t anything wrong with that. He wasn’t like those stereotypical jocks in the movies who made a competition of dating girls and sleeping with them. In fact, he’d only ever had one serious relationship in the past with a girl he was convinced he was in love with. Garfield was proud to say that they’d only started sleeping together a year into their relationship and that wasn’t even his primary motive. Unfortunately for him, she didn’t reciprocate his strong feelings. Instead, she dumped him a year and a half into their relationship for some college douchebag. He hated remembering his old girlfriend, but he couldn’t deny Tara had stolen his heart and crushed it in the course of two years. Regardless, Garfield had gotten over her (at least he tried to convince himself), and admittedly, he was a flirty guy. He was extremely popular with the ladies as his dashing good looks and incredible sense of humor never failed to lure them in (he liked to think so).

Garfield plopped down on his chair next to his best friend, Victor, who had been eying him the moment he had walked into the classroom.

“So, green bean, why so late, huh?” Victor leaned in to whisper.

“Dude, how many times have I told you to stop calling me that? It happened years ago,” Garfield grumbled remembering the origin of his stupid nickname. During his third year of elementary school, Garfield had been so obsessed with the Incredible Hulk that he had decided it was a good idea to paint himself green during his art class while his teacher was outside the room. Needless to say, Rita and his art teacher had been infuriated, both for different reasons: one for simply being an embarrassment of a child and one for using up nearly all of the green paint in the studio. Of course, Victor hadn’t forgotten about the incident, and it didn’t help that he had remained a good half-foot shorter than the bulky, six foot five guy. Good thing he had gotten over his obsession (mostly anyway). Instead of being fully green, he had only dyed the tips of his hair green. It was the obvious answer.

“Not enough. Now answer the question,” Victor grinned.

Garfield rolled his eyes, “Alright, so my alarm didn’t wake me up again, and my car was out of gas this morning so I had to stop at the gas station.”

“That it? What got you so tired you couldn’t get up this morning?” Victor arched a suggestive eyebrow.

Garfield sighed, “I was at the hospital again. Doctor was talking to me about the usual. Yada, yadda, don’t overwork yourself or your condition will get worse, blah. You know the drill.”

“Gar, you really have to listen to your doctor. You know how serious your illness is, and yesterday, you really did overwork yourself during gym class,” Victor’s voice lost its humorous tone.

“Dude, I know that. I just wanted to be a normal guy for once. Geez, I know my disease is incurable and all but if I could technically drop dead at any moment, I might as well live in the moment, you know?” Garfield muttered as he crossed his arms.

Victor frowned, “Don’t say that. You’re not going to drop dead as long as you take care of yourself.”

“Yeah, whatever, can we stop talking about it? Like I said, live in the moment,” Garfield placed his arms behind his head and leaned back on his chair. “Plus, detention ain’t that bad. At least it’ll keep me from procrastinating on the assignment or not turning it in at all…”

“You right about that green bean. I’m glad you always see the silver lining in everything,” Victor smiled and patted his head.

“Stop calling me that!” Garfield exclaimed.

“Victor, Garfield, anything interesting you have to share?” Ms. Evans glared from the front of the classroom.

“Erm… No, Ms. Evans…” both Garfield and Victor murmured.  

* * *

 “Raven, is it? Hold on, I can’t find your name in the system,” the receptionist stood up and disappeared inside the room behind her desk.

Raven grimaced and plopped down on one of the waiting chairs. She glanced at the clock, and her mood only worsened. Forty-five minutes. She had been waiting for a total of forty-five minutes and the receptionist still hadn’t found her enrollment documents. Perfect. Everything was just perfect.

“Hello, are you new here too?” a girl questioned from a few chairs away. The girl, like Raven, had also been waiting there for a long time. Unlike her, however, her expression remained radiant and optimistic. The girl was extremely tall, standing probably a foot taller than Raven who was only five feet two herself. She had extremely long and luscious red hair that essentially reached her waist. Her visage was what Raven would consider near-perfect as well as her extreme hourglass shape. Her eyes were a bright emerald green and almost looked like they glowed despite the dim lighting of the room. She essentially looked like a model.

Raven simply nodded and opened her book to read. Hopefully, it would deter the bright girl from continuing the conversation.

“My name is Kory Anders! May I learn your name, friend?” the girl exclaimed blissfully.

Raven sighed and closed her book shut. She didn’t want to be rude, but she didn’t want to continue talking to her in fear that she would consider her a new friend. Hell, she had already called her one.

“Raven.”

“Raven? That is a very pretty name. It is a type of bird, is it not? Did your mother perhaps like ravens?” she questioned curiously.

Raven tensed at the mention of her birth mother. Arella. Despite giving birth to her, the woman had basically left her to rot at the hands of her father. That woman could care less about her own daughter, so Raven didn’t bother caring about her.

She shrugged at the question and opened her book again. Kory was about to speak when the receptionist, Pamela, reentered the room. Raven instantly jumped up, hoping to get out of the room as soon as possible.

“Good news, ladies, the principal has confirmed your enrollment papers to Jump City Highschool. You two are good to go. I got your schedules right here,” Pamela grinned and placed two papers on the desk.

Raven practically raced towards the sheet. “It was nice to meet you, friend Raven. I hope to see you-” but Raven had already dashed out of the room without another word. She felt like a bitch, and with good reason. Kory seemed like an innocent, nice girl who didn’t deserve Raven’s treatment. However, Raven knew she was a bitch, and she actively acted for the role, mostly to keep people at arms distance. She didn’t like people. She didn’t like talking to people. Most definitely, she didn’t like making friends. Friends were complicated. Friends were hard to keep. Friends were a liability. Raven didn’t like liabilities.

She was glad she could start fresh in this new environment, and with only two years to go, cliques and friend groups were already established, so it’d be easy to avoid making friends. Most of all, she looked forward to a peaceful and quiet environment-

“Oof!” a male voice uttered as they both crashed onto each other and promptly fell to the ground with a loud thump.

Raven groaned, momentarily stunned by the fall. She opened her eyes and found herself peering into the greenest eyes she’d ever seen, brighter than even Kory’s. She wasn’t sure how much time passed as he didn’t stop staring into her own eyes either. She was only awoken from her hypnotic state when his eyes sneakily trailed down to her chest which was essentially showing a bit too much cleavage in their current position.

Raven scowled and stood up, grabbing her book as she did to avoid any of those cliché ‘let me grab your stuff and woo you’ scenarios he was undoubtedly conjuring inside his head. She zipped up her jacket when she did, suddenly uncomfortable with her black v-neck shirt.

“Heh… Sorry, that was my bad,” he stood up sheepishly and chuckled. He grinned at her with what she supposed was his best ‘charming prince’ smile. She was good at reading people, however, and she knew where his intentions stood. He was the typical California sun-kissed guy with messy blonde hair and most likely a jock reputation judging by his attractive physique, neither scrawny nor buff. Raven wasn’t going to deny it. After all, she had eyes, and he was really attractive. However, she most certainly wasn’t going to act on that attraction like he seemingly expected her to. Her glare only intensified, and she felt a hint of pride at the bit of fear she detected in his expression.

When she didn’t say anything, he hurriedly spoke in an attempt to keep her from walking away like she intended to, “I’m Gar, uh… Are you new? I haven’t seen you around and you… uh… don’t look like a freshman…” his eyes traveled down her silhouette again, and Raven felt her face grow hot (she wasn’t sure if it was from anger or embarrassment, probably a bit of both).

“Excuse me,” she muttered before shoving him to the side and walking past him.

“Hold up!” he took her wrist and pulled her back.

Raven quickly turned and snatched her hand back. “What?” she spat out with a venomous tone. Gar was clearly taken aback as he stepped away from her.

“I didn’t catch your name…” Gar muttered like a hurt puppy.

Raven clutched her book tightly against her chest. She frowned, “What’s it to you?”

Gar laughed for a moment and then smiled at her, “I just want to know your name.”

“Raven. Now, if you excuse me, I’m late to class,” she murmured before turning around and rushing away before he could catch up with her again. Thankfully, he didn’t follow, and she was able to let out an unintentional breath she had been holding. Why was she holding her breath? Whatever, she had to get to class before the bell or else she would be late. On her first day. 

* * *

 “And then she turned around and basically ran away like I would chase after her or something.”

“I mean, knowing you, you probably would,” Dick pointed out as he took a bite of his hamburger.

“Dude, I’m not _that_ desperate. I’m just a nice guy,” Garfield muttered as he poked his potato salad with his fork.

“So she’s new here? Two weeks into Junior year? Huh, I wonder where she transferred from,” Victor replied curiously.

“Well, I want to meet this mysterious chick you mentioned judging by your description,” Wally added with a suggestive eyebrow.

Garfield rolled his eyes, “Is that all you heard me say? Gee, Wally, get your head out of the gutter. She doesn’t seem like that type of girl.”

“Well, by the way she totally blew you off, it seems like it,” Roy snickered.

“Yeah, harsh dude. Must have hurt your ego,” Wally commented with a laugh.

“Whatever…” Garfield muttered as the guys switched their conversation topic to the other new girl in the school. He couldn’t stop thinking about Raven though. Truthfully, he was a bit disappointed that she didn’t seem to take his advances like other girls usually did. She seemed so… different. It wasn’t just her pale complexion or her intense indigo eyes. She had some sort of odd aura that set the gears turning inside his head.

Garfield was curious, _really_ curious. He wanted to learn more about her. He wanted to know her story. He wanted to know why she appeared so closed off. He wanted to know how she’d look when she smiled. He wanted to hear the undoubtedly heavenly sound of her laughter. Did she even laugh? Maybe she’d laugh at one of his jokes? That seemed too optimistic. Regardless, Garfield wanted to know more about her.

And when Garfield wanted something, he did everything in his power to acquire it. 

* * *

 

**Capture the Flag**

Two weeks.

It had been almost two weeks since Garfield’s encounter with the dark beauty. He had tried everything. He had essentially walked around the whole campus, which was tremendously huge, glancing through the classrooms and hallways to see if he could find her. He had asked many of his peers (as slyly as he could) if they knew anything about her disappearance. He had gone to Pamela to ask about the girl for God’s sake (and that lady was terrifying). It was like she had vanished during the first day. He had heard a few of his teachers ask during class if anyone knew where she was, but no one had any idea. Had something happened to her?

During lunch, he spent more time watching the cafeteria door than actually eating his food. Then, one day, she finally walked in. Though her face was obstructed by the hood from her oversized sweatshirt, he caught a glance of the purple highlights on her short, raven-colored hair. She disappeared inside a crowd of students waiting for their school lunch.

“Who are you staring at, green bean?” Victor questioned curiously from his seat next to him. That caught the attention of his other tablemates who looked over at him.

“I thought I saw…” Garfield stopped when the crowd cleared, and she seemingly vanished into thin air. He swore that girl had the ability to teleport. “Never mind…” he muttered and turned back to his sandwich.

“Don’t tell me you’re still on the hunt for that new girl? You realize she hasn’t come to school since that first day? Maybe she regretted coming here,” Dick told him.

Garfield shrugged, “I was just curious about her, that’s all.”

“Yeah, well I’m curious about that new girl Kory. Have you seen her?” Wally whistled. “She’s got the body of a Goddess! Them-”

“Shut up Wally. Have some dignity,” Dick muttered as he adjusted his dark shades (no one was sure why he insisted on wearing them, but Garfield was convinced Dick thought they made him look badass, which he agreed on).

“Please! Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed-”

“Dude, just shut your mouth, you talk too much,” Victor interrupted.

The boys started arguing, though Garfield paid no attention to them as his eyes wandered, once again, to the cafeteria doors.

“Hey, Gar?” he heard someone call.

“Huh?” Garfield snapped out of his trance.

“You ready?” Victor asked.

Garfield furrowed his eyebrows, “For..?”

“To go to class. Dude, what’s up with you? Did you not hear the bell ring?” Victor snickered.

Garfield quickly jumped out of his seat, “Shoot, I can’t be late to class again! That detention period after school was terrible!”

Victor chuckled again, “Well, I’m heading to Computer Science. I’ll see you after school?”

“For..?” Garfield asked in confusion.

“Karen’s party? Dude, don’t tell me you forgot!”

“I… Uh, no of course not!” Garfield chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his head. He had totally forgotten Karen was having her back-to-school party tonight. “I’ll be there!”

“You better, or else Karen will be pissed,” Victor pointed out. He patted Garfield on the back before walking away.

Garfield stood frozen for a moment before realizing he only had two minutes to run down two flights of stairs to the gymnasium. He cursed under his breath as he quickly rushed out of the cafeteria.

He burst through the gymnasium doors nearly a second before the bell rung. He placed his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath, “I’m…” _Breath._ “Here…” _Breath._ He looked up to see Coach Z glaring him down from her spot on the benches.

“Logan, go change before I give you a nice extra school hour. Head to the field after, we’ll be playing an outdoor game today,” she ordered.

“Yes, ma'am!” he quickly replied before heading to the changing room.

Inside, most of his classmates were already changed, including Dick and Wally who were chatting in the corner. Garfield hurried towards his locker next to them.

“Gee, you guys could have waited for me…” he grumbled under his breath.

“Nah, you looked too entertained with the cafeteria door that we just didn’t want to interrupt your daydreams,” Wally chuckled.

“Let’s head out before the coach gives us detention for slacking off,” Dick headed for the exit. “You better hurry up Garfield. She won’t be so nice to you considering how many times you’ve missed her class.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” Garfield muttered, though Dick and Wally had already walked out. The room cleared out quickly, and Garfield was left by himself. After he finished tying his shoelaces, he scrambled out of the room a little too quickly and ended up bumping into someone.

“Argh!” he exclaimed before face-planting on the ground. “Ow…” he muttered as he rubbed his nose.

“Ugh, not you again…” the girl croaked.

Garfield glanced up to see the girl he’d been searching for the past few weeks dressed in her gym attire (a black zip-up over a white shirt and some black joggers). His eyes widened, and his smile grew like the Cheshire Cat, though it quickly diminished when she scowled at him. He stumbled onto his feet and offered his hand to Raven which she promptly ignored. She helped herself up. Then, after a few seconds of awkward silence, she cleared her throat. “Can you move? The field is that way…” she pointed behind him.

“Oh!” Garfield exclaimed and chuckled in an awkward manner as he stepped to the side. “Uh… yeah, but… Can I-”

She pushed past him in an attempt to ignore him, but he wasn’t about to let that happen.

“Wait, Raven!” Garfield took hold of her wrist and pulled her back, though she jerked away. He noted the way she rubbed the spot like he’d hurt her. Had he pulled too hard? “Uh, sorry… Did I hurt you?”

“No,” Raven growled and crossed her arms. “What do you want?”

“I just wanted to know where you’ve been for the past two weeks… You haven’t shown up to class and no one’s heard from you since the first day,” Garfield replied.

Raven huffed, “Why do you care?”

“What can you say? I’m a curious guy,” he grinned at her. That only seemed to intensify her glare though.

“I’ve been out,” Raven simply stated.

“Out where?”

“Out of the country.”

“The country!? Why?”

“Can you stop asking questions? It’s none of your business,” she snapped.

Garfield put his hands up in a surrender motion, “Like I said, I’m just curious. Plus… They could expel you, you know… I don’t think you really want-”

“How would you know what I want?” Raven retorted.

“Oh well, I don’t really know, but you know…” Garfield wasn’t sure how to reply to that. “I don’t think anyone would like to get expelled?”

“Right,” Raven murmured before turning around and walking away.

Though Garfield was going to attempt to call her back, he didn’t, considering he had no idea what he would say. Instead, he decided to catch up to her and amble beside her.

“What do you want?” Raven groaned.

“Hey, dude, I’m just walking to the field too. You know… Where we're supposed to go? Like you said. It’s this way,” he pointed down the direction they were walking towards.

Raven only rolled her eyes.

When they arrived at their destination, Coach Z promptly scolded them both for being so late. Then, she sent them to their spot with a warning (thankfully). They separated respectfully to their side of the gym (Garfield to the right with the guys and Raven to the left with the girls).

“Alright, everyone! Today we’re playing an open-field game of capture the flag. I need you to pair up with a partner in your side, and each pair is going to go against another,” Coach Z ordered before blowing her whistle. “Go!”

Garfield glanced around in the guy's section to find that most of his classmates had already found a partner. He spotted Dick on the other side waving him over. He jogged towards him, “Wow, the mighty Dick Grayson asking me to be his partner for a gym activity. I’m flattered. Was I your last resort or something?” he laughed.

Though Garfield couldn’t see his eyes through Dick’s dark shades, he was pretty sure he was rolling his eyes.

“Shut up before I regret my decision.”

“Okay, pairs, grab a color flag and then head to the pair with the complementary color of your flag,” Coach Z exclaimed. “You’re going to go against them.”

Garfield and Dick walked over to the flags and grabbed the last color left in the pile: yellow.

“What’s a complementary color again?” Garfield questioned.

“Don’t you have art this year?”

“Yeah, but I don’t remember.”

“It’s the color opposite to another color in the color wheel.”

“Got it… What’s the complementary color to yellow?”

“How am I supposed to know?”

“Dude! You’re the smart one!”

“I’m not the artsy type.”

“Yeah, but you’re-”

“Excuse me,” a girl’s voice interrupted.

Garfield’s eyes wandered towards the newcomer—an exceedingly tall girl with fiery red hair and sparkling green eyes. Though he had never spoken to Kory Anders, Garfield knew her from the rumors in the hallways claiming she was a foreign model from Europe who had moved to Jump City for an unknown reason. She was beautiful, but Garfield doubted that she was really a model. Why would a model move to their crappy city when there were plenty of other famous cities she could’ve moved to? Why would a model even attend a public high school?

“I believe we are against you, yes?” Kory questioned while raising up a purple flag. That’s when Garfield glanced to her side where none other than the dark ice queen herself stood with an infuriated expression.

Garfield smiled widely, “Hey Raven!”

Dick cleared his throat, “Yes, I believe purple is the complementary color to yellow.”

“I thought you said you didn’t know your complementary colors,” Garfield replied in a mischievous tone. Clearly, his friend had taken a liking to the red-head.

“Shut up,” Dick muttered under his breath.

“Me, on the other hand, I’m an expert,” Garfield bragged, his eyesight landing on Raven who simply rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. That seemed to be her signature expression.

“Garfield, you didn’t even know what a complementary color was,” Dick pointed out with an amused expression.

Garfield sent him a glare.

He was about to reply when Kory spoke up, “I am Kory Anders, and this is Raven Roth. May we know your names, friends?”

“I’m Dick Grayson, and this is Garfield Logan over here,” Dick introduced them.

Garfield huffed at the sound of his full name, “You can call me Gar though. All my friends do.”

Kory clapped her hands and squealed, “We are friends, then! Yes?”

Garfield smiled at her, “Sure thing!”

Before he knew it, he was enveloped into the girl’s surprisingly strong arms. “Kory-” he tried to breathe out. She recoiled back. “Oh, I am sorry friend Garfield! I got very excited!”

“Do you not have many friends?” Dick asked.

Kory shook her head, “There are a few girls who I sit with during the afternoon meal. However, most of the girls here are exceptionally mean, and many of the boys are rather… touchy.”

“Oh,” Dick’s face turned red at the implication. “Well, we’re rather nice. Who do you sit with during lunch? Maybe we know them.”

While Kory and Dick stroke up a conversation, Garfield directed his attention to Raven, who looked rather bored. “So, Rae? We’re friends too, right?” he asked as he stepped next to her.

Raven stared him down. For such a petite girl, she was rather terrifying.

“No,” she stated. “And I would highly prefer it if you’d call me by my birth name, Raven.”

“Aw, what do you mean? You know you’d love to be my friend,” Garfield ignored her second statement.

“No, I really wouldn’t.”

“Why not!?” Garfield pouted.

“Because… You’re insufferable, childish, and loud.”

“I’m not!”

“Your exclamation confirms it.”

“I’m not…”

“Friends!” Garfield and Raven looked over at Kory who, alongside Dick, had set up the flags on their respective sides of the field. “I believe it is time to begin.”

She pointed at Coach Z who was getting ready to blow her whistle.

“Huh, I didn’t hear her,” Garfield stated.

“Maybe it was because you were screaming,” Raven deadpanned.

“I was not!”

“Now!” Coach Z announced before blowing her whistle.

Garfield turned back to Raven who, to his surprise, was already heading hastily towards their flag. He turned back to see Dick attempting to run past Kory for the purple flag. “Protect our flag Gar!” he exclaimed. He looked back at Raven who was only a few feet from their base.

Garfield cursed before running towards their base. Raven took hold of their flag just as Garfield reached base. She was surprisingly quick and agile on her feet and managed to evade Garfield, taking him by surprise. He rapidly turned and chased after her, though she was too fast for him, and she was dangerously close to her base.

“Dick!” Garfield alerted.

Dick turned and blocked Raven before she could arrive at her base, seemingly forgetting about the red-head next to him. Raven abruptly stopped in her track and turned back. Garfield didn’t have time to break as he was heading at full speed towards her. He felt a sense of panic overwhelm him as he realized what was about to happen.

“Look out!” he managed to let out, but it was too late. He toppled down on Raven letting out an unmanly squeak as he did.

The good news: he landed on something soft and squishy.

The bad news: when he attempted to feel what it was, he realized that something was Raven’s… chest area.

Welp, that was it. He was going to die today. _‘Garfield Mark Logan, mysteriously found dead in his high school football field after groping a girl during a game of capture the flag.’_

“Get. Off. Me.”

Garfield was up on his feet within a second. He considered offering a helping hand to Raven but decided against it. Instead, he stepped back a considerable distance to make sure he had time to escape in case she attempted to strangle him or something. He began to apologize profusely, but she could only glare at him. How had he gotten off on such a wrong foot with the girl?

“Just, shut your mouth,” Raven muttered, and he quickly obeyed. He didn’t want to aggravate her further.

“Raven! We have won!” Kory announced from her spot in their base, yellow flag in hand.

“Great,” Raven simply replied, though Kory most likely didn’t hear her as she was jumping around and cheering loudly. Meanwhile, Dick was catching his breath beside her.

Coach Z blew her whistle, “That’s game! Get ready for the next round! We’re switching teams!”

Garfield glanced at Raven who seemed to be avoiding his stare. He wasn’t sure how he was going to make up for this one. 

* * *

"You- You…” Victor was wheezing from the laughter and almost falling out of his chair. “You did what!?”

“You’re already on second base! I thought you said Raven wasn’t that kind of girl!” Wally exclaimed through his snickers.

Garfield felt like a tomato. He looked down to avoid any eye contact, “Dude! It was an accident…”

“Yeah, right! You totally nailed it though! Can’t believe you’re still alive after that one!” Roy added.

Garfield rolled his eyes, “It wasn’t on purpose!”

From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Raven walking into the lab. They locked eyes for a moment. Raven turned to avoid his sight, however.

“Hey, Raven-”

She dismissed him as she walked past towards an empty table in the very back of the lab. Garfield sighed and his friends only laughed harder. He turned back to the front and frowned at them.

Mr. Palmer walked into the classroom and everyone settled down. Throughout the whole period, Garfield couldn’t help but sneak glances at Raven who kept her eyes glued to the window next to her. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but he was going to do whatever it took to apologize. She couldn’t avoid him forever.

Could she?

* * *

 

 

**A Midnight Stroll**

Garfield slid his hands inside his pockets as he strolled down Danny Street. It had been an exhausting day what with the incident with Raven during gym class, the party after school at Karen’s place, and his dinner with Rita and Steve. He grimaced, attempting to dismiss the dinner or at least force it to the back of his mind.

It was nearly midnight and after having a nasty fight with his adoptive father Steve, he sought to clear his mind. It was another meaningless fight dealing with Garfield’s future. While he desired to attend a small university on the outskirts of town to study for a career in Zoology, Steve wanted him to attend some prestigious academy in Gotham (there was no way he would study there) with a business major.

As usual, what was supposed to be a normal family dinner ended up a disaster. Rita had attempted to calm them both, but Steve was a stubborn man. He never backed down. As the head of the household, he expected everything to go his way. He expected Garfield to one day take over his successful business. Garfield simply didn’t work that way. He refused to follow Steve’s orders, as he believed was old enough to make his own decisions. Two stubborn alpha males in one household didn’t mix very well together. Things escalated a bit further when Steve ordered Rita to be a “nice wife” and keep quiet. This, of course, had enraged Garfield to no end. He didn’t agree with anyone treating a lady in such a way, much less his mother. Then, the worst of it ensued, essentially causing Garfield to abruptly stand up and storm out of the house.

_“If Rita and I had been able to birth a child, there would be no use for you!”_

The statement inevitably struck a nerve in Garfield. His mother had been speechless, and by the time she had recovered, Garfield was already out of the house. Though Steve and Garfield argued often, he had _never_ gone as far as to say such a thing. He didn’t want to admit it—but the statement reopened a buried wound inside his heart.

From a young age, he had blamed himself for his parents’ deaths. After all, as a five-year-old child, he had watched helplessly as his parents plunged to their deaths in a horrific boating accident. If Garfield hadn’t gotten infected with an incurable disease from a rare species of ape, they would’ve left Africa sooner. They would’ve made it home for the holidays that year. They would be here with him right now—supporting his aspirations for his future. Instead, they were buried six feet deep underground. Forever gone. And he was stuck with an adoptive father he constantly fought with and an adoptive mother who could only watch their arguments from the sidelines. He loved Rita, he really did, but sometimes he wished she could be more confronting with Steve. Garfield knew she sided with him, as proved by her customary visits following a particularly nasty fight. She always consoled Garfield: telling him she agreed with him, that she only wanted what was best for his future and his happiness, but she never proved it. She never stood up for him. She remained quiet, only attempting to calm both Steve and him during their brawls.

He plopped down on a bench in the nearby park he liked to visit whenever he wanted to clear his mind. He placed his hands over his face, taking deep breaths and attempting to calm down.

The night was quiet. The only distinct sounds came from the crickets chirping and the owls hooting. The full moon illuminated his surroundings better than the dim lighting from the streetlamps. He closed his eyes, letting the serene environment pacify his turbulent thoughts. He loved nature for that reason. It neither agreed nor disagreed with him. It didn’t seek conflict. It just was.

He only opened them when he heard the sound of a trash can falling over. He glanced around the park but couldn’t pinpoint the source of the sound. When he focused his hearing, he heard voices coming from an alleyway between two businesses facing the park.

Garfield was naturally a curious guy, and though it was probably a terrible idea considering he was alone in a deserted, mostly dark street during the middle of the night unarmed and without a cell phone, he decided to investigate. Garfield wasn’t the smartest.

He peered around the corner and caught sight of two figures. The first thing he noted was that one of the figures was nearly three times the size of the other. The second thing he noted was that the larger figure had the smaller figure pinned up against a wall. And finally, the third thing he noted was their voices. The first voice was clearly a man’s voice judging by how deep and gruff it sounded. The second voice was contained and raspy. It was most notably a girl, and she sounded extremely familiar.

“Well? How are you going to call your daddy now to protect his precious little gem?”

“I don’t require protection from scum like you. I fight my own battles.”

“Do you now?”

Just as Garfield was about to interfere, he heard a loud grunt followed by a resounding thump. His eyes widened when he noticed just how the tables had turned. The petite figure now towered over the man who lied on the ground groaning. Her hood had fallen in the process of whatever it was that happened (too fast for even Garfield to witness), and her dark locks obscured her face. However, the dull lightning from the alley lamp allowed Garfield to notice the purple highlights in her hair.

Raven.

“I wouldn’t advise whoever sent you to do it again. Or at least send someone more threatening.”

Raven raised her hood, placed her hands inside her pockets, and headed straight towards Garfield, who quickly hid behind a trash can to avoid being caught. He waited for her to walk a considerable distance before following behind. He failed to notice how suspicious he looked stalking a petite girl in the middle of the night. He also failed to notice the fact that she knew she was being followed and was leading him astray into another blind alley.

By the time he noticed, he was already pinned up against a wall (ironically in the exact same position she had been only a few minutes before). Her indigo eyes almost looked black in the darkness of the alley. They stared straight into the trenches of Garfield’s soul—as if she could get inside his head and read his most private secrets.

“What do you want?” she spat out before realizing who it was.

“Eh… Hi Raven…” he chuckled nervously, slightly afraid that she would pull one of her ninja moves and knock him to the ground as she did with the man.

“What the hell are you doing following me in the middle of the night?” she posed, though she didn’t release him.

“Uh, I’m not very sure myself…” he answered weakly.

Raven scowled, “You do realize how creepy it is to follow a defenseless girl in an empty street at twelve in the morning?”

“Well, yeah, but you’re not a defenseless girl…” he pointed out, referring to the scene he had watched unfold. However, he then realized the grave mistake he had made pointing out how he was essentially spying on her.

Raven gritted her teeth, and she hesitantly pulled away. “The next time I see you following me, I won’t be as merciful,” she muttered. Then, she turned on her heel and walked towards the alley exit.

“Wait!” he quickly exclaimed.

She stopped, but she didn’t turn to look at him.

“Who… Who was that man?” he stammered. “And why are you walking outside alone so late at night?”

“One, that’s none of your concern. Two, I could ask you the same.”

After a second of silence, he realized she was waiting for a reasonable answer.

“I just wanted to clear my head…” he replied quietly, recalling his fight with Steve.

“Same,” she murmured before disappearing around the corner.

When Garfield exited the alleyway, she was gone, unsurprisingly. He sighed before making his way back home. During his whole walk back, the mysterious girl invaded his thoughts. Dozens of questions about her stormed his head. Why was she out so late? How did she act so calmly during her confrontation with whoever that man was? Where had she learned those fighting tactics? What was she hiding behind those ominous, detached, and beautiful indigo eyes?

But the most intriguing question of them all—who was Raven Roth?

* * *

 

**Jokes**

“I’m not keen with people staring at me, you know,” Raven deadpanned. She kept her eyes glued to the book she held.

Garfield didn’t reply and instead settled for attempting to see the title of the book she was reading.

“ _Lord of the Flies_. What is so interesting about a book based on flies?” he tilted his head curiously.

Raven peered straight into his soul. “It is actually about the inherently savage nature of humankind and the barbarism boys can develop when stranded alone in an uninhabited island,” she asserted in an impassive tone. Then, she turned back to her book and continued to read quietly.

“...”

Garfield looked away, slightly disturbed at both her mannerism and words. He instead decided to focus his eyesight on the clock above the board. Forty-five minutes until lunchtime. He sighed. Their government professor was on medical leave after having surgery for the third time in one year (he swore that woman lived in the hospital). As such, Garfield had nothing to do, not that he wanted an assignment to work on, but at least he would’ve had a reason to be bored. Right now, he could only stare at the clock or the few cute girls in the front row who kept giggling and glancing at him every few minutes. Yep, he was totally a ladies man.

He grinned cockily when one of them winked at him. After they focused their attention on something else, Garfield decided to go back to watching Raven. He was still trying to figure her out. He couldn’t decide whether she was uncaring or just plain rude. Most likely both. He noticed the way her eyebrows furrowed frequently and the way she murmured quietly to herself every so often and that it took her about ten seconds to read two pages.

After watching her attentively for a few minutes, Garfield felt bored again, so he decided he wanted her attention. He opened his mouth wide and yawned noisily. After a few seconds without a reaction, he yawned again, this time making it louder and clearer. No reaction. He yawned, yet again, stretching his arms and legs wide and making it sound like he was about to swallow something whole. He heard Raven slam her book closed.

“Why are you sitting here again? Don’t you usually sit in the front with all your popular cool kid friends,” Raven glared at him.

Garfield glanced at Garth and Roy who were sitting in the front row talking about what he could only assume was their usual shenanigans.

“Nah,” Garfield waved her off. “I just wanted a change of scenery, y’know? You get used to a place and then you kind of just want a break from it.”

“You wanted a change of scenery _in class_?” Raven arched an eyebrow.

“Yep!” Garfield made sure to pop the ‘p’ to irritate her further. This was totally more amusing than just sitting around and staring at the clock.

Raven shook her head and slipped her book inside her backpack. She pulled out a textbook and a journal and began to write something in it.

“What are you doing?” he asked curiously.

“It’s called being productive. You should try it sometimes instead of staring at me for half the class period,” Raven snapped.

“Can’t help it, you’re just too interesting to watch,” Garfield grinned.

Raven rolled her eyes, “I was reading a book. Is that really more interesting than attempting to read yourself?”

“Hey! I can read!” Garfield pouted. “Contrary to popular belief, I’m not just a dumb jock. Gee, Rae, you don’t have to believe in all those stereotypes. I’ll have you know I have an A+ in AP Biology,” he delivered proudly.

“First, don’t call me Rae. Second, I firmly believe intelligence can’t be measured with just letters and numbers,” Raven retorted. “Third, you might not be a ‘dumb jock,’ but you are incredibly annoying.”

“You keep saying that, but you continue to talk to me,” Garfield pointed out over-confidently.

Raven didn’t reply to that. He waited a few minutes for an answer, but she simply continued to work silently on her assignment.

“Okay I take that back,” Garfield stated.

No reply.

“Come on Rae! Talk to me,” he insisted.

Raven grimaced at the nickname, but other than that, she didn’t reply.

Garfield huffed and turned to the clock. Barely fifteen minutes had gone by. They still had half an hour until lunchtime. He groaned loudly and slammed his forehead on the desk.

Still no reply.

He laid his head on its side and observed her. Then, the incident that had occurred yesterday popped into his head. His face warmed up, and he realized he still hadn’t found a proper way to apologize. Then again, she hadn’t mentioned it at all, so maybe she was over it? And she was talking to him, after all. So clearly, they were all signs that he shouldn’t mention it and simply forget it.

“I’m sorry about the whole gym thing yesterday…” he blurted out. _Way to go Gar, you had no reason to mention it at all._

Raven shifted slightly in her seat, but she didn’t emote otherwise.

“Why was that man threatening you yesterday?” he asked, not expecting a reply.

“Why were you following me?” she returned.

“I… wasn’t following you…”

“How else do you explain you spying on a private matter in an empty street during the middle of the night?”

“It wasn’t intentional. I was taking a walk in the park, I heard a loud noise and voices, so naturally, I went to check it out. What if it was an innocent woman being harassed by a man? It’s only logical to go check to make sure everything’s okay,” Garfield explained. “I was going to help you, but you seemed to have things under control. And I admit it, after that, I did follow you but only because I wanted to ask if you were okay.”

“This whole act of chivalry is going to get you killed someday.”

“It’s called being a decent human being,” Garfield crossed his arms. “You could learn a thing from it,” he droned under his breath.

“If you’re trying to derive some sort of reaction, insults don’t affect me. And as I said before, you have no reason to sit here. You could be sitting up there with your own friends.”

“Do you ever smile?” Garfield questioned abruptly, ignoring the current topic at hand.

“I don’t have a reason to right now if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“How about I tell you a few jokes?”

“Please don’t.”

“Alright, if you insist,” Garfield cleared his throat in a dramatic manner as if he were about to make a speech. “What did the grape say when the elephant sat on it?”

Pause.

“Nothing, but it let out a little wine!” he snickered. “Okay, another one, another one… What do you call a broken can opener?”

Pause.

“A _can’t_ opener!” he let out another hearty chuckle. “Why’d the old man fall down the well?”

Pause.

“Because he couldn’t see that well!” Another laugh.

“A priest, a pastor, and a rabbi walk into a bar. The bartender says, ‘What is this, some kind of joke?’”

Garfield’s eyes widened comically and he beamed when he remembered one of his favorites, “Oh! Another one!”

“A priest, a pastor, and a rabbi walk into a bar.  
The bartender points to the sign on the wall that says ‘No jokes served here.’  
They asked ‘Where can we get a drink?’  
‘The place across the street,’ replied the bartender.  
As they started to leave, a horse walked in. The bartender pointed to the sign and said ‘Follow them.’ But before they made it out the door a chicken flew in.  
The bartender pointed and said ‘You too.’  
The chicken said ‘You've got to be kidding!’” he laughed hysterically, slapping his hand on his knee and almost falling out of his chair.

After a few seconds of recovering from his nonsensical snickering, he continued, “Okay, the last one, I promise! Knock knock!”

No response.

He leaned over, and like it was some sort of secret, he whispered, “You’re supposed to ask who’s there, Rae.”

“If I play along, will you leave me alone?”

“Yes.”

“Who’s there?”

“Quiet horse.”

“... Quiet horse who?”

“Neigh…” he murmured.

“...”

“...”

“... That was terrible.”

“Aw! Don’t deny you didn’t laugh even a little bit!” he accused with a goofy grin.

“I didn’t.”

“HA! So you don’t deny it!”

“I do.”

“So you laughed!”

“I didn’t.”

“But you admitted that you didn’t deny it!”

“That makes no sense whatsoever.”

“You make no sense!”

“Please stop screaming. You’re dragging too much attention to yourself,” Raven muttered.

Garfield noticed that a few people were staring at him, and in addition to his screaming and her whispering, Raven was still very much focused on the textbook in front of her which made him look like he was having an intense argument with himself.

“Heh,” Garfield scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

For the last few minutes of class, Garfield was too embarrassed to attempt to further the conversation with Raven, which she probably appreciated. He instead decided to continue glaring at the clock until eventually, the bell rung. Raven was gone before he could even say a proper goodbye. 

* * *

 “Friends! I hope you are having an utmost fantastic day!” Kory exclaimed as she plopped down in the seat next to Dick.

“You too, Kory,” he smiled sheepishly. Garfield swore everytime Kory appeared, Dick lost his ‘cool guy’ aura around her. It was amusing to watch, admittedly.

“We decided to sit with you losers today,” Karen grinned as she took a seat between Garth and Roy.

“Unfortunately…” Jinx (her name was Jennifer Hex but everyone called her Jinx considering she seemed to bring about bad luck to everyone she interacted with on her first year at Jump High) muttered as she took her own place between Victor and Wally.

“Hey Jinxy,” Victor grinned at her.

“... Don’t call me that,” she grumbled.

“So? What’s this about the cheerleading tryouts?” Toni asked enthusiastically when she sat down by Kory.

“Oh yes! As I was saying, Kory has officially joined the Bumblebees,” Karen announced to the table.

“Good job, Kory,” Dick complimented, causing Kory to blush.

“Nice one, Kory!” Victor congratulated.

“That’s great news,” Garth smiled.

“You seem like a natural,” Roy replied.

“You’re going to look smoking in that outfit!” Wally added, earning an elbow from Jinx. “Ow! Calm down Jinxy-poo, you know I still have eyes for you.”

“Grow up, Wallace,” Jinx rolled her eyes.

Garfield grinned at Kory, “You’ll fit right in, Kory.”

“That’s exactly what I’ve been saying. She’ll look like a bombshell up there!” Karen exclaimed.

“I am most thankful for all your compliments, friends,” Kory smiled widely. “I am very excited to dance and cheer for your sports teams. And if I may, what is a bombshell?”

“It just means a really pretty girl,” Toni quickly responded as the rest of the table snickered.

“Like Roy said, you’re a natural,” Karen noted.

Kory clapped her hands together, “It makes me very happy to hear that!”

“From the captain of the cheerleading squad, too,” Victor pointed out which only made Kory squeal.

“So, what’s up with the creepy new goth chick over there?” Jinx pointed at one of the lone tables in the corner of the cafeteria.

It was the first time Garfield noticed Raven was in their lunch, considering he hadn’t seen her during those two weeks she went missing (he assumed he’d been hallucinating or something when he saw her yesterday). She was sitting by herself reading her book while ignoring the lunch tray in front of her and her general vicinity.

“She likes sitting alone. I’m not sure why. It’s the same during class,” Victor commented before chomping on a big piece of his hamburger.

“I respect it. She looks like an introvert, and she’s probably still getting used to this place,” Dick nodded.

“I heard she was homeschooled,” Toni pointed out.

“Did you guys hear what happened in homeroom this morning?” Karen questioned.

“Yeah, I was there,” Dick replied.

“What happened?” Garfield asked curiously.

“Mr. I’m-so-tough-guy Adonis tried to ask her out, in a very crude manner mind you, and when she declined his advances, he got really pissed off. So this other guy, Matt I believe, tried to defend her honor or whatever, you know how guys are. They started fighting, and when the teacher finally did separate them, Adonis tried to pin the blame on Raven by saying she was an ‘attention-seeking whore’ and Matt tried defending her again. They were sent to the principal’s office, but the most interesting part is that Raven didn’t even flinch, thank Matt, or even react to Adonis’ insults. A little creepy honestly,” Karen responded.

“You were there, Dick? What happened afterward?” Victor asked.

Dick shrugged and took a bite of his mashed potatoes, “Nothing really. Raven didn’t seem affected by it. Everyone was gossipping about her, and it was fairly obvious, but she didn’t seem to care.”

“Why did Adonis act so rudely?” Kory posed.

“Adonis is a jerk, Kory. I don’t recommend you ever talking to him or even paying attention to what he says,” Toni told her.

“Then again, Raven is creepy and rude, so who says she didn’t ask for it?” Jinx voiced her opinion.

“Jinx, don’t-”

However, before Victor could say anything, Garfield interrupted and snapped, “Leave her alone. Raven isn’t that bad. She just doesn’t like people very much. She’s not too different from you, Jinx. Would you say you’re asking for Adonis to bother you?”

“Please, stop arguing, I do not believe any girl would ask for such treatment,” Kory replied before Jinx could. She glanced at Raven. “I believe Raven might just be misunderstood.” Then, she stood up with her lunch tray in hand.

“Where are you going, Kory?” Dick furrowed his eyebrows.

“I will go talk to her. What if she is in need of a friend?” she smiled before turning and heading towards Raven’s table.

“I don’t recommend it, Kory. She is rather mean, and I don’t think your personalities would work very well together,” Dick warned.

Kory stopped in her tracks, but she didn’t turn to look at them. She took a moment to reply, “You underestimate my ability to handle impolite behavior, and you overestimate Raven’s negative attitude. I believe she does not do it on purpose. I spoke with her during my first day. She was the only one who did not treat me any differently because of my heritage or my way of speaking. Raven may not seem like the nicest, but she also does not seem completely honest in her hostile behavior. I think she hides her true feelings behind a mask because she does not wish to be hurt. I respect that, but I will still attempt to act friendly toward her. In my opinion, Raven is a good person, and I do not appreciate people talking badly about my friends, especially other friends. I will talk to you all later.”

With that, she walked away. Everyone watched in stunned silence as Kory sat down in the seat in front of Raven, who arched an eyebrow at the girl but didn’t comment otherwise on it.

“... Since when is Kory so… attentive?” Roy broke the silence.

“I’m not sure,” Dick added quietly.

While his friends continued to talk, Garfield couldn’t remove his eyesight from Kory and Raven. He pondered Kory’s words. Despite her being rather naive, she had a really good point. Raven didn’t seem completely honest in her act. It made Garfield wonder why he had taken such a keen interest in her. Then, a tinge of jealousy arose in Garfield’s stomach as he watched Raven speak to Kory (even though she didn’t seem to pay her full attention to her). Why couldn’t she speak to him as she did to her? She seemed rather irritated by him, but she could easily speak to Kory who was the loudest, most cheerful girl he had ever encountered (a bit like Garfield himself). So if Kory could initiate a conversation so easily with Raven, why couldn’t he? 

* * *

 “Raven!” Garfield caught up with her as she walked out of the school building. Though his car was parked at the back of the school, which he was currently walking away from, he continued to follow Raven.

“What do you want?” Raven groaned.

“I just want to talk to you…” Garfield admitted. He placed his hands inside his pockets as he strolled alongside.

“Didn’t you talk enough during Government?” she raised an eyebrow.

Garfield chuckled and responded, “Nah. I still got a ton of energy to expend.”

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“Are you going to talk? Anything that isn’t meaningless small-talk? I don’t exactly like it.”

“Oh, yeah. I was going to ask…” Garfield wasn’t sure what to say. He had walked over fully expecting her to ignore him. “... How are you?”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, I was having a nice quiet day until you came along.”

“You don’t really mean that.”

“How do you know what I mean to say?”

“I don’t, but I do think you’re playing the role of a bitchy girl when you’re really not.”

“Believe what you want, but that’s what I call denial.”

“Why would _I_ be in denial? Wouldn’t that be you?”

“I am not in denial. On the other hand, you seem like you expect every girl to fall head over heels for you on your first-day meeting, and when that doesn’t happen, you turn into an irritating parasite.”

“So... You’re saying I still have a chance..?”

“When did you get that impression?”

“You implied that I expected you to fall for me on our _first-day_ meeting, but you didn’t deny the fact that you could still fall for me _later on_ ,” Garfield smirked, feeling a hint of pride at his logic, despite it being improbable that she would ever set her eyes on him.

“I did just call you an irritating parasite, I don’t understand how you’d even be remotely interested or believe I’m interested after that.”

“I’m stubborn like that.”

“I noticed.”

“I also don’t believe you’re as mean as you let on.”

“So you mentioned.”

“You talked to Kory, after all.”

“Kory is also incredibly annoying, but she doesn’t insist on talking to me as much as you do.”

“So you’re saying that I have to pretend I don’t want to talk to you to get you to talk to me?”

“I didn’t say that at all.”

“It sounded like you did.”

Raven stopped in her tracks, “I just don’t want to talk to you at all. I don’t get what I have to do to get you off my back. There’s plenty of other girls for you to bother, including Kory who sounds like she’d be the most interested in talking to you considering you two are so much alike.”

“I just want to be friends with you.”

“Well, I don’t.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not the friends kind of gal, and I doubt that’s your only intention.”

“Come on Rae! I’m not a prick like Adonis.”

“Please stop calling me Rae, it’s not helping your situation. And gossip spreads rather quickly in this school, doesn’t it?”

“Adonis had no right speaking to you like that.”

“There goes that chivalry situation again.”

“Raven, would you at least give me a chance?” She raised an eyebrow, and he quickly added, “At a friendship, not a romantic relationship, because I very well know the only chance I have at a romantic relationship with you would probably only be in an apocalyptic scenario where a demon lord conquers the earth and sets everything aflame.”

“Where did you get that from?”

“Some comic book, but that doesn’t matter. What I mean is, can we just at least try to get along? I feel like I’m hitting rock bottom with you, and I don’t want things to be like that. I really do want to be your friend, even if you don’t believe it.”

“Fine.”

“We’re friends?” Garfield asked excitedly.

“No, but we can try to get along. I have a few set rules, however. First, you have to stop calling me Rae. Second, we’ll only be acquaintances at best. Third, you have to stop telling me stupid jokes and insisting to talk to me.”

“... Can I at least sit with you during lunch?”

“... Yes,” she answered hesitantly.

“Sweet! Can I bring a few friends?”

Raven took longer to answer, “Fine, but if they’re as loud as you are, don’t bother because I’m perfectly fine with just switching tables.”

“I promise they’re not! I’m the loudest, really. So it doesn’t get any worse than me or Kory,” he reassured her.

“That’s comforting,” she deadpanned and continued to walk.

“Where are you heading?”

“Home. You should too.”

“Are you walking home? Where do you live? I could give you a ride.”

“No, thank you. I like walking home. It helps me clear my mind.”

Garfield was going to insist but decided not to as he believed he had already pushed enough boundaries with the girl, “Okay. I’ll leave you then. See you tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

He gave her a wide grin that she promptly ignored, “Sweet! Bye Rae-ven…” he chuckled sheepishly when he noticed her scowl. Then, he trotted back to the school parking lot to retrieve his car.

* * *

“Daughter,” her father stated as Raven stepped into her rather large, ludicrously wealthy mansion. Raven bit her lip as she let her backpack fall on the floor and approached the large, intimidating man. “You’re home. I have someone you’d like to meet.”

Raven tried not to frown as the silver-haired man walked into the room from her father’s office.

“Hello Raven,” he feigned a gentleman tone. “Pleasure to see you again.”

“Malchior...” she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

On the other side of town, Garfield was walking into his own much more modest yet affluent home. Inside, Rita peaked her head out of the kitchen to see if Garfield had arrived. She grinned widely and quickly exited to greet him. She adjusted the collar of his casual button-down shirt and dusted his shoulders.

“Uh… What’s going on?”

“We have someone here to see you!”

“Who…” Garfield’s voice dissipated when he noticed who had just walked out of the kitchen.

“Hi Gar,” the thin blonde girl brushed her hair behind her ear and observed him with her large, azure eyes. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Tara…” he stuttered.

It was going to be a long and disastrous night.


	2. Two

**Fights**

“What are you doing here?” Raven sent both of them a menacing glare. “I thought you were supposed to be in England.”

“Your father called me here. He even arranged a flight for me,” Malchior responded. He wondered idly around the room, fiddling with a few antique vases and marble statues on the furniture.

“Why is he here?” Raven asked her father through clenched teeth.

“I thought you would like to see him,” Trenton grinned maliciously. “Last time I checked, you two were _very_ cozy together. We didn’t get to visit England on our trip last week, so I decided to bring him here. His father and I also have…” he searched for the proper wording. “... Business to discuss.”

Malchior approached Raven and snatched her hand in a rather aggressive manner, “It really is a pleasure to see you again, my dear,” he stated before kissing her hand.

“One that is not returned,” Raven pulled her hand back.

“I will leave you two alone while Mr. Nol and I negotiate a deal. Later tonight, we will dine together. Please make sure to dress appropriately Raven,” Trenton glanced at her outfit (a black hoodie and some ripped jeans) like she was wearing something obscene. Then, he disappeared inside his office.

Raven glanced at Malchior who stood leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and a venomous smirk plastered on his expression.

“Why are you here?” she repeated.

“You don’t sound thrilled to see me,” Malchior claimed with an amused tone. “I expected a courteous welcome from you.”

“Of course I don’t! After what happened six months ago, why would I?” Raven snarled.

Malchior chuckled, “My dear, it was all a simple misunderstanding that you refuse to leave behind.”

“How was finding you and some bitch nude in a hotel room bed a misunderstanding?” Raven retorted with spite.

“She was a mistake, and you are very well aware of it,” Malchior strode forward before clutching her wrists and pulling her towards him. Raven made no attempt to release herself and instead observed him with a detached stare. “Why don’t we…” he placed a finger under her chin and raised her head to lock eyes with her. “Start over?”

Raven felt her blood boil. She shoved him back, “You’re an absolute prick if you think I can go back to you after a stunt like that!”

Malchior regarded her calmly before burying his hands inside his pockets. He leaned against the wall and spoke, “I’ll get you back eventually. Though, I’d rather have you willing to be my future wife than not. It’ll make things much easier, Raven.”

“What do you mean by that?” she practically growled.

“I mean that our fathers are very keen on merging their successful businesses and knowing we’re both inheriting their businesses means that we must get along… very well,” Malchior acknowledged.

“You _very well_ know that’s never going to happen,” she spat.

Malchior laughed quietly, “My dear, I don’t think that’s something you get to decide.”  

* * *

“What are you doing here?” Garfield sputtered as he ran his hands through his messy blonde locks and paced around the room. Rita had excused herself to the dining room to set the table and left both Tara and Garfield alone in the living room.

Tara took a seat on the sofa and stared intently at the floor, “I came back to town recently, and your parents invited me over… They wanted us to make up after…”

“After you left me for some college douchebag?” he retorted. He froze in place, facing away from her and clenching and unclenching his fists repeatedly to compose himself. He shut his eyes in an attempt to contain the both angry and devasted tears that longed for an escape.

“Gar…” Tara whispered. “He… He’s in the past. It was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made… Please-”

Garfield extended his hand to prevent her from speaking further. “Tara… I don’t want to hear this from you. You’ve already betrayed my trust enough times. I-I don’t…” he swallowed his sorrowful sentiments. “I don’t want to afford to trust you again when I know I’ll just end up hurt.”

“Please don’t say that Gar…” she spoke softly. If it had been anyone else listening, it would’ve been impossible for them to hear, but Garfield could hear her clearly, even though he didn’t want to. “I still love you…”

Garfield didn’t respond. He knew it wasn’t true. She knew it wasn’t true. She could only speak lies, as proven over and over again. Years ago, he would’ve forgiven her in a moment’s notice. He had forgiven her in a moment’s notice—time and time again, and yet she continued betraying his trust. He had been too naive with her charms, too gullible to discern her true character, too trusting of her words. Now, he realized Tara had only ever come back to him because he was easy to manipulate. She could have him wrapped around her finger in the span of one second. He couldn’t let it happen, not again.

“Your father, he was the one who arranged this meeting. He thought maybe if we got back together, I could convince you to inherit his business in the future, and then maybe, our parents’ companies could merge and you and I could…”

“Stop,” Garfield interrupted her. “Why are you telling me this?”

“I want to regain your trust, Gar. I really do. I know it won’t be easy, but I promise I won’t ever make that mistake again… I won’t ever leave you. In fact, we could run away together if you really don’t want to stay here. We could go to a college far away and you could seek a degree in zoology for your dream career and I could study engineering and we could move in together and we could-”

“Tara, please,” Garfield’s voice cracked. “I don’t want to hear this! I could forgive you, but I won’t. I’ve already given you too many chances! Even before we were dating, back when we were best friends. But you keep proving time and time again that you don’t really care about me. You only care about yourself, and I’ve been hurt too many times by your narcissistic actions.”

Tara remained silent. Garfield wiped the tear stains from his cheeks before turning to look at her. He regarded her with a blank stare, “Besides, I already found someone else.” He exited the living room before she could respond properly and stormed upstairs to his bedroom.  

* * *

The silence in the room as they dined could only be described as asphyxiating. Raven felt that at any moment now, the uneasy sentiment would implode and detonate the place. In fact, she felt that at any moment, _she_ could be the one to explode from her turbulent feelings of animosity, irritability, and admittedly, heartache.

She stabbed one of her green beans with her fork as a way to release even a bit of her resentment towards both her father and Malchior. She had barely touched her food, and she avoided eye contact with anyone on the table at all costs.

“Raven,” her father began. “I hope you and Malchior have made up.”

Raven frowned as she stared at the severed pea, “Why do you say?”

“Because he will be staying here for the next few weeks,” he stated.

She looked up in an instant with wide eyes, “What?”

“You heard me. I have arranged for Malchior to stay in the guest room for the next three weeks. His father is going to be handling business in Gotham for the time being, and we believe it would be… beneficial for you two to bond in the meantime,” Trenton explained.

“I don’t think that’s a good-”

“Raven, do not contradict me. It has already been arranged, and you will make sure to welcome him properly. You two must learn to get along. In fact, _you_ must learn to get along with _him_. Malchior has already demonstrated his willingness to amend your damaged relationship. You, however, have not. As such, you will learn to interact properly with him as your future relationship will be crucial for the success of our businesses.”

“Future relationship?” Raven clutched her fork and glared daggers at her father. “Malchior and I have no future together. He proved that months ago when he betrayed my trust.”

Trenton glanced at Mr. Nol who cleared his throat, “My son is regretful of the situation that occurred. Trenton and I have also arranged a marriage for both of you in the future as it will be most beneficial for our merged businesses.”

Raven gritted her teeth and slammed her fork on the table, “An arranged marriage? We’re not living in the eighteenth century.”

“Perhaps we are not, but that does not impede this marriage from taking place. Our plans are already set. However, we will give you time to pursue your studies and strengthen your relationship,” Trenton added.

“And if I don’t agree?” Raven challenged.

“You cannot oppose this. The same way you cannot oppose inheriting my company,” Trenton continued. “In fact, if you-”

Raven stood abruptly and interrupted him, “I have never wanted to take over the corrupt, reprehensible business you use to mask your involvement with human trafficking and the drug cartel as well as the severity of your crimes. In fact, the only reason I’m even here is because my age and your ability to locate individuals so easily prevent me from running away. When I’m able to, I won’t hesitate on escaping this hellish place and your demonic influence. So if you believe a ridiculous arranged marriage will prevent my future plans of departure, you’re very well incorrect. Excuse me.”

With that, she stormed out of the dining room and up the stairs to her bedroom. When she walked in, she sat down on her bed, crossed her legs, placed her hands on both knees, and began to chant her mantra—to travel to a place that would alleviate her spiraling emotions.

“Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…” she recited quietly until eventually, she subdued her thoughts and cleared her mind.  

* * *

Though it was completely silent, Garfield swore the room resonated with the no doubt jumbled thoughts of every individual at the dinner table.

Garfield pushed his food around the plate as Tara’s surprise visit had left a bad taste in his mouth and had certainly eliminated his appetite. As usual, Steve had made the situation worse by insisting she stay for dinner considering Rita had cooked a colossal amount of food.

They ate quietly, seemingly readying themselves for the impending argument between Garfield and his adoptive father.

“So, Tara, how are things at home?” Rita attempted to ease the tension in the room.

“Things have been a bit hectic since I returned with my mother working from home after her surgery and my father attempting to reinscribe me into school so late in the semester,” Tara explained. “But despite that, everything’s been great, thank you for asking Mrs. Dayton,” she smiled and continued eating her food quietly.

“Garfield. There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about,” Steve began. “As you know, Tara’s return comes at a bit of a random notice,” he acknowledged the elephant in the room. “However, there is a reason for it. Mr. Markov and I have been talking about our respective companies, his based on construction and mine based on materials. Our companies have a long history of working well together, and it’s proved to be extremely beneficial. Considering both you and Tara will be inheriting our businesses,” Garfield frowned. “... We believe your current conflict would hinder future work relationships. Though it’s true that personal and business relationships should not be mixed, we’d rather not take the chance. Considering Tara has returned with the intention to fix your relationship, we believe it’d be advantageous for you to attempt the same. And because-”

“Steve, you’re stalling. Just get to the point…” Garfield interrupted in a dry tone.

“Your romantic relationship worked well as proved by your long time together and your tight, lifelong friendship with each other. We hoped you two could makeup as we believe a matrimonial relationship would be perfect for a merger between our companies in the future.”

“You want us to get married!?” Garfield exclaimed. His fork slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor with a cling.

“After pursuing your studies and preparing to inherit the company-”

“You're arranging a marriage for us against our wills! Isn’t that illegal!?” Garfield slammed his fist on the table. He could feel his temper rising, and he felt that at any moment, he was going to explode.

“I wouldn’t call it an arranged marriage, exactly,” Steve’s voice remained calm, though by the way he was clutching his utensils, it was clear he was also beginning to lose his temper. “Tara agreed. It’s only a matter of time before you-”

“What the hell do you mean by that!?” Garfield growled.

“Watch your language boy!” Steve exclaimed, startling Rita who was sitting by him. She tried to intervene but Steve held his hand out to keep her out of the discussion. Tara simply sat silently and avoiding explicit eye contact with anyone.

“I have given you everything you need. When Rita and I adopted you after your parents died, we hoped to raise you to be a respectful man like your father Mark Logan was. I realize now that you’re only a scoundrel who can’t understand the sacrifices we’ve made for you!”

Garfield sent him a piercing glare, “What sacrifices? My illness? Well, guess what Steve, I could care less! You might as well have left me to die!”

Rita gasped and Tara shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Steve observed him with stern eyes and without hesitance replied: “Maybe I should have.”

Like yesterday, Garfield abruptly stood up from his seat and stomped out of the dining room. He slammed his bedroom door and placed his hands over his face, making sure to let out the frustrated howl he’d been holding in.  

* * *

 “Raven,” Trenton opened his daughter’s bedroom door without knocking.

Though she heard him, Raven ignored his presence and continued chanting her mantra quietly with her eyes closed.

“Don’t ignore me girl!” he exclaimed as he slammed her door closed.

She didn’t flinch and instead opened her eyes and watched him with an unemotional stare.

Trenton approached her bed and stood in front of her, regarding her with a ghastly expression that arose a tinge of fear within her and _almost_ caused her to frown.

“I have done everything for you. I have moved heaven and earth for your sake, and this is how you repay me?”

Raven didn’t reply.

“Say something!” he hollered.

Silence.

Within the blink of an eye, Trenton grasped her wrists and pulled her off the bed in one swift motion. Raven barely managed to keep her balance.

“You think you’re so clever, girl? You’re going to regret treating your father this way!” he squeezed her wrists tightly, restoring the ache from her previous bruising. Then, he shoved her to the ground causing her to strike the side of her forehead against the corner of her nightstand which undoubtedly would cause another nasty bruise.

Raven inhaled a deep breath before taking the next beating without resistance.

 

“Garfield…” his mother spoke softly as she walked into his room.

Garfield kept his stare fixated on his bedroom ceiling. He heard the bed creak next to him, indicating Rita had taken a seat.

“How are you?” her voice trembled, almost afraid to continue speaking. He felt his heart break at the sound.

Garfield sat up and looked her in the eye, “I’m upset.”

Her mouth opened and closed like she was searching for something to say, “I’m sorry about Steve… You know, how he is. You know he didn’t mean it.”

“That’s the problem, Rita. I know he meant it. I could tell,” he replied.

Rita took his hand and continued, “That’s not true Gar. He-”

“It is true!” Garfield screamed as he snatched his hand back, causing Rita to flinch. He covered his face with his hands. “I’m sorry. I just need to be alone.”

“But Garfield-”

“I said I want to be alone!”

Rita jumped back from his bed and regarded him with frightened eyes. He almost felt apologetic. _Almost_.

After she left, he buried his face inside his pillow and waited for sleep to overtake him. Finally, after almost an hour, the world turned black and Garfield surrendered himself to a peaceful slumber.  

* * *

It was going to be a dreadful morning.

Raven knew it.

Garfield knew it.

She awoke two hours before dawn. She got up, showered, thoroughly sanitized her open wounds, changed into a black long-sleeve and some dark jeans, and began to apply make-up over the bruising on the side of her forehead. The make-up didn’t conceal the bluish tint very well so she decided to hide it with her hair. She practically swallowed down a whole fruit and hurried out of the house before either Trenton or Malchior awoke.

He awoke nearly half an hour before school started. He stumbled out of bed, took a quick rinse, changed into some random band t-shirt and blue jeans, and gobbled down some toast before rushing to his car to drive to school.

She still felt agitated from her father’s beating, and she felt like she would snap in a moment’s notice.

He was still uneasy after his fight with Steve, and he felt like his temper would explode at any second.

They were both inevitably extremely inattentive of their surroundings, and as fate would have it, they selected the same entrance to the school. By the time they were on the floor after colliding, both aggravated and unready to deal with each other, their fight was unavoidable.

“Can’t you watch where you’re going?” Raven snapped.

“You ran into me! Why are you always acting like such a bitch!?” Garfield exploded.

“Why are you always acting like an annoying prick!?”

“I don’t know Raven, I’m the one who’s always attempting to act friendly with you but you constantly reject me like I’m some sort of douchebag!”

“Well, I’d hope you get the hint and left me the fuck alone!”

Garfield chuckled humourlessly, “Yeah, that’s what the creepy witch wants, huh? To always be alone and push people away so she doesn’t make any friends. Why do I even try with you!?”

Raven crossed her arms, “I have no damn clue. I’ve been trying to get you off my back since day one, but it seems you don’t learn. What? Do you have some sort of mental condition that prevents you from realizing people don’t want to hear you continuously ramble and make stupid jokes!?”

“It seems the only person who thinks that is an antisocial selfish sociopath who pretends to think she doesn’t care about what other people say about her!”

“I don’t pretend to not care. I don’t care at all! This conversation is useless, and I’d rather not hear it!” Raven tried to push past him, but he clutched her wrist and pulled her back.

“I’m not fucking done with you, Raven! I don’t understand how you can act like some depressed goth chick who puts down others because she thinks she’s above everyone else and not feel guilty about it! What? Do you not have feelings? I’d honestly be convinced if you told me you were some emotionless robot!”

Raven attempted to free herself from his grasp, but he only gripped her wrist harder, “Let me go you egotistic asshole! I’d rather not hear your meaningless insults!”

“If they’re so meaningless, why can’t you hear them? What Rae? Are you afraid to admit that you have feelings? That you’re a breathing, living person and not some unemotional ghost? That it fucking hurts when people talk to you like this!?”

“Shut the fuck up you bastard! I don’t care about your opinion! If you’d just left me alone from day one, we’d both be happier!”

“STOP!” Kory’s scream echoed across the school parking lot. Victor managed to tug Garfield away whilst Dick pulled Raven away. By then, it seemed like half the school had their attention and neither had noticed that Kory had been insisting for them to stop throughout the duration of their argument.

Victor placed his hand firmly on Garfield’s shoulder to prevent him from pouncing on Raven again. Meanwhile, Raven jerked away from Dick. They glared at each other intently, threatening each other to speak again.

No one spoke, however, and for a second, the silence was so thick it was deafening to their ears.

Finally, Raven stormed into the school building and essentially ended the confrontation. Kory sent Garfield a nasty look before hurrying behind her.

“What the hell is wrong with you Gar? I’ve never seen you speak to a lady like that,” Victor frowned disappointingly at him.

Garfield huffed and crossed his arms, unbelieving of the fact that his best friend was defending _her_ , “She’s no lady. And why the fuck are you defending that witch?”

Victor observed him intently, attempting to discern his countenance, “Dude, I’m not defending anyone. You’re both at fault. You’re lucky no teacher heard your brawl or you’d probably be expelled. Do you want to get expelled?”

Garfield was about to retort something rude but decided against it. He stayed quiet for a moment, making sure to breathe properly to calm himself down. Then, he looked at Victor, who scrutinized him with worried eyes.

“I’m sorry, Vic. I’m not sure what got a hold of me,” he admitted. “It’s like I exploded all the sudden, and I couldn’t control what I was saying.”

Victor sighed, “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to green bean.”  

* * *

 

**Apologies**

“Friend Raven? Are you in here?” she heard Kory’s voice as she stepped into the girls' restroom (one which was rarely ever used as it was located in a deserted hallway people believed was haunted by the ghost of a theater girl who hanged herself, which was obviously a lie to keep younger students from intruding on the frequent make-out sessions that occurred there).

Raven grimaced as the girl slowly approached her. Her hands tightly clasped the sides of the sink and her head faced downwards, hair shrouding her visage from the newcomer beside her.

“Friend Raven? Are you alright?” Kory placed a hand on her shoulder, causing Raven to jerk away from her. Kory’s eyes looked wide with concern. She held her hands together and directed her gaze to the ground. “Did I hurt you?” she questioned with a hint of guilt in her tone.

“I’m fine,” Raven responded as she bit her lip. She turned the faucet on and let the scalding water run over her wrists to soothe them. Kory’s sight was still turned away from her and fixated on the ground, unaware of the disturbing coloration of Raven’s skin.

For a moment, the only sound was of the running water in the sink and the faint air conditioner in the background. Raven turned off the tap, wiped her hands and wrists with a paper towel, and covered them with the sleeves of her shirt. She turned to Kory who seemed like she wanted to speak but was hesitating.

“I’m fine, really,” Raven stated as if reading her mind. Kory regarded her with wide and innocent green eyes as if she were afraid Raven could run away at any second—which wasn’t far from the truth.

“I am sorry about friend Garfield’s attitude towards-”

“You have nothing to be sorry about, Kory,” Raven interrupted her in a cool and collected tone. She crossed her arms and sighed, “I’d leave that to him.”

Kory frowned, “I do not believe all those vile words Garfield said to you. I hope you do not, as well.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t care about what others say. Garfield might as well have told me to kill myself, and I wouldn’t care.”

Kory gasped dramatically and put her hands over her mouth, “Friend Garfield would never utter such brutalities! I believe the reason he spoke to you in that way was because he was in a foul mood today. That is what friend Dick tells me.”

“If you say so,” Raven shrugged. “We should get to class now. We don’t want to be late or we might get in trouble.”

She tried to walk past Kory, but the girl placed a firm hand on her shoulder to prevent it. “Raven, are you sure you are alright? You can confide in me if something is bothering you. I do not believe that you could have walked away unharmed or upset after you and Garfield’s confrontation,” she admitted.

Raven sighed and gently removed Kory’s hand, “I’m okay Kory. I promise. Let’s get to class.”

She hesitantly nodded and followed behind Raven, who failed to realize Kory had been fully aware of the marks on Raven’s wrists as she’d watched her through the reflection of the mirror next to her. Much to say, Kory felt incredibly worried, and only one question superseded her thoughts at that moment: _Could Garfield really have made those marks during their fight?_

* * *

Garfield felt terrible.

First, he had arrived at his house the day before expecting it to be a good night only to find his ex was there, and she wanted him back (though Garfield doubted it was her true intention). Then, he’d had dinner with said ex alongside his family which ended up in an unsurprisingly ugly fight between him and Steve. Not to mention Rita had attempted to make Garfield feel better, and he had utterly rejected her kind advances by shouting at her. Finally, he had undeniably exploded on Raven and insulted her in all kinds of destructive ways he’d rather not remember. Now, the guilt was inevitably overwhelming as he sat in his English class distractingly watching the old lady he had seen the first-day attempt to cross the street again.

“Mr. Logan, is there something interesting outside that you’d like to share with the class?” Ms. Evans demanded as she stepped beside him.

Garfield avoided eye contact with her and instead stared at the floor, “No Ms. Evans…”

“Well, I’d suggest you pay more attention to the board from now on then. After all, your grades have been reflecting your apparent distracted nature in this period,” she declared. Garfield heard a few chuckles from his surrounding classmates. Ms. Evans walked to the front of the class and continued her lesson.

“Gar, you okay man?” Victor whispered from the desk to his left.

“Not really,” Garfield muttered as he toyed with the eraser on his pencil. “I feel really guilty. And I don’t know what to do.”

“Isn’t it obvious? You have to apologize for once,” Victor stated.

Garfield spared him a look, “I know that, dude. I just don’t know how. This is _Raven_ we’re talking about. I’m surprised she hasn’t killed me yet. She’s probably never going to want to talk to me again.”

“You’re not the only one who exploded Gar. She also has some fault in the matter. You both do. So not only do you have to apologize to her, but she also has an apology to deliver herself. So I’m guessing you’re going to talk to her eventually,” Victor reassured him.

Garfield huffed amusingly, “Raven? Apologizing? Yeah, right. When the world burns over, maybe then she would.”

“You don’t give her enough credit, green bean. She might have a temper, but she’s not a bad person,” Victor replied.

Garfield arched an eyebrow, “Since when do _you_ know Raven so well?”

“Since we became year-long partners in our psychology class,” Victor retorted.

Garfield’s eyes went wide, “You? Partners with her? Dude, I’ll send over my condolences. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure your funeral goes by smoothly. I’ll set up your favorite music, food-”

Victor rolled his eyes, “Raven’s okay. Honestly, I don’t know what you do to piss her off, but she acts fine around me. She’s only like that with you, green bean.” Then he thought for a moment, “Why do you annoy her so much? Do you like her or something?”

Garfield felt a sense of panic overwhelm him, “What!? Psh, no dude! What would make you think that? Raven’s not my type… She’s not blonde, not tall, she doesn’t even remotely enjoy my jokes or at least pretend to enjoy them, and she hates me!”

Victor arched an eyebrow and scanned him suspiciously, “You sure you don’t like her? You got nervous when I mentioned it.”

“Nah!” Garfield smirked to mask the pink tinge enveloping his cheeks, “Not at all. Either way, I wouldn’t try my charms on a girl who finds me annoying. There’s plenty of easier fish in the sea.”

An idea popped inside Victor’s head and he grinned, “Honestly, that can really only mean two things. Either she completely and utterly hates your guts or she’s interested,” he wiggled his eyebrows.

Garfield snorted, “Clearly, she hates my guts.”

“I wouldn’t be too quick to judge,” Victor pointed out, hoping he’d take the bait. Then again, there was no reason he wouldn’t. Garfield was easy to fool.

“Why do you say?” Garfield raised an eyebrow and glanced at him expectantly.

 _Bingo_ . Victor had a smug grin plastered on his expression, “I don’t know green bean. We did have a short conversation about _you_ during one of our assignments yesterday.”

“What did she say about me?” Garfield’s eyes popped open all the sudden, and Victor swore he could see a twinge of hope in them.

Victor chuckled lightly, but he remained quiet just to spite him.

Garfield sent him a glare, “Tell me!”

“Aren’t you impatient? Nothing. She just told me you were overtly aggravating,” he recalled.

Garfield frowned, disappointed with his answer, “Way to get me excited.”

“Hm, so you are interested in her?” Victor watched him with a devilish grin.

Garfield jerked in his seat and directed his sight to Victor. _Damn him!_ He shook his head, “Not at all, dude. I just wanted to be her friend. That’s clearly not going to happen now…” he finished lamely with an awkward laugh.

“You really do need to apologize to her,” Victor repeated. “If you want to have a chance with her at least.”

“I’m not into her!” Garfield insisted.

“Sure,” Victor grinned mischievously. “And I’m the tooth fairy.”

Garfield rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

“She’s way out of your league though.”

“Dude!”  

* * *

Garfield clutched the sides of his tray nervously as he meandered towards Raven’s table in the back. Kory was already plopped down next to Dick talking while Raven sat quietly in front of them with eyes glued to her novel. Kory locked eyes with him as he walked, and she frowned suddenly. She glanced at Raven who was still unaware of his approaching presence.

However, as he reached the table, Raven’s eyes drifted upwards and locked with his own. She slammed her book shut and regarded him with a blank stare. Garfield wasn’t sure if he should’ve been alarmed at her lack of emotion or relieved.

“Hey, Raven… Can I talk to you?” he asked as he placed his tray on the table and took a seat next to her.

Kory quickly jumped up from her seat, “Friend Dick! I believe we have to go talk to Victor right now.”

“What? Why-” But Dick couldn’t protest as the girl literally dragged him away from the lunch table (without their food) and towards their usual table.

“What do you want? To insult me some more?” Raven stared expectantly.

Garfield felt his stomach’s contents revolve like a carousel. “No, I was actually going to apologize for that. I was in a really bad mood this morning, and I had no reason to explode on you like that. I’m really sorry…” he admitted.

Raven watched him blankly, trying to determine whether he was sincere with his apology. She didn’t detect any dishonesty, however. She sighed, “I suppose I was also in the wrong. Like you, I had a bad morning, and I shouldn’t have taken in it out on you like I did.”

Garfield paused to ponder her words, “Are you… apologizing..?”

Raven frowned at him, “Yes, unless you don’t want me to-”

“No, no, no! I- thanks, I mean. For the apology! How about we start fresh? Forget this morning happened?” Garfield scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Raven hesitated, but she replied, “Okay.”

Garfield’s grin expanded like the Chesire cat’s, “Sweet! Friends?”

“Not quite,” Raven told him which made his expression falter. She felt a tinge of guilt at his disappointment, but she masked it with a dull stare. “... Yet,” she said before she could think properly about her words.

His face brightened at that. He took a bite of his peanut butter sandwich and spoke with a mouthful, “So what was Dick doing sitting here?”

“Kory brought him along. He’s alright. Doesn’t ask too many questions or attempt to rope me into a conversation, so I’m fine with him sitting here. Plus, it distracts Kory from bothering me,” Raven replied as she opened her book again.

Garfield nodded and watched her intently. He frowned as he noticed something the moment she turned the page.

“What’s that on your wrist?” he questioned with furrowed eyebrows.

Raven tensed beside him but recovered before he could notice. “I bruised my wrist when I tripped yesterday,” she spoke calmly.

Garfield wasn’t sure why it was, but he didn’t fully believe her excuse. “You should put something on it… It doesn’t look nice. We can go to the nurse so she can-”

“It’s really fine, Garfield. It looks worse than it feels,” she interrupted.

“Are you sure? I feel bad about putting pressure on it this morning when we had our argument. What if it made it worse? I did grab you really hard…” Garfield said quietly.

“You didn’t make it worse, I promise,” she reassured him.

“Can I at least see it?”

“I don’t need you-”

“Raven. I won’t back off until you show it to me. You said it’s not bad, and if it’s not bad then it shouldn’t be a big deal if I take a look,” Garfield insisted.

Raven was about to refuse, but she knew it’d be pointless to argue with him. She raised her wrist and pulled her sleeve back, hoping that he wouldn’t make such a big deal out of it.

“Raven… This looks really bad… Did I really do this?” Garfield gulped down a sensation of apprehension.

“I said I bruised it yesterday when I tripped,” Raven repeated with a hint of annoyment.

Garfield gently took her wrist on his hand and examined the bluish and purplish color surrounding it, “I don’t think you can bruise your wrist like this by just falling. It looks like something was gripping you… Are you sure it wasn’t me?”

“Yes Garfield,” Raven snatched her wrist back and pulled up her sleeve. “I’m sure.”

Garfield furrowed his eyebrows and regarded her with concern, but he decided not to push her further, “If you say so…” he murmured.

“Why were you so upset this morning?” Raven clutched desperately to the first question that popped to mind to change the subject though she didn’t outwardly show it.

Garfield's stomach sank, and he suddenly remembered the reason for their fight, “I… I had a fight with my adoptive father yesterday over some things, and I woke up in a bad mood today.”

“Oh,” Raven wasn’t sure where to take the subject. “You’re adopted..?”

Garfield found himself relieved that she didn’t ask why they fought (not that he would’ve told her, but he’d rather be honest with Raven to encourage her to open up). “Yeah, I was adopted a few years after my parents died in a boating accident in Africa, back when I was five years old,” he told her. Then, he braced himself for the inevitable apology she would utter as everyone else did.

Raven didn’t reply, however. Garfield turned to her with confusion. She was picking at her food and generally avoiding his eyes. “This is the part when people usually say they’re sorry…” he blurted out.

“Why would I say it? I wasn’t there, and it’s a meaningless apology people like to say to fill the silence after a revelation like that,” Raven admitted. Garfield chuckled at her response, and she observed him with confused eyes.

“Sorry, no one’s ever really _not_ apologized, so it caught me off guard,” Garfield confessed. “You’re one of a kind, Rae,” he stated in a moment of impulsiveness before his whole face turned red.

Luckily for him, she didn’t seem too bothered about it. Perhaps she was getting used to his charm? “Is this another one of your attempts at flirting with me?” she deadpanned.

“Ah, no…” he chuckled nervously. “It was a compliment. You know, after I called you all those nasty words this morning and all-”

“The past is in the past Garfield. It only hinders your ability to live in the present if you let it,” she countered. “I’m over it. You should be too.”

“... Okay,” he smiled. “How about you? Why were you so upset this morning?” he asked curiously.

“I also had an argument with my father, and it left me with a particularly vile taste in my mouth this morning,” she spoke truthfully.

“Ah…” Garfield unconsciously glanced at her covered wrists, but he rapidly dismissed the dangerous trail of thought. _It couldn’t be_. “Trouble at home?” the words came out before he could contain them.

Raven arched an eyebrow and watched him intently, trying to discern what brought about that particular choice of wording, “... Something like that.”

“Sorry, I don’t mean to pry. You don’t have to talk about it…” Before he knew it, he was spilling all of his own thoughts. “I know I don’t like to talk about my fights with Steve. They’re mostly about my future really. He refuses to give up on this stupid idea of me running his company in the future. Me? I’d rather study for a zoology major and work as a wildlife biologist in a national park,” his eyes practically sparked to life at the thought. “Just working outside identifying species of birds with a pair of binoculars, observing wolves’ behaviors from a close distance, feeling the breeze during a windy day while analyzing lake water, lying on the ground and relaxing in the sunlight. It sounds like a dream, honestly. I’d rather enjoy myself outside than feel entrapped inside an air-conditioned office with boring meetings all day long-”

Raven nodded as he spoke, growing more invested in the conversation as he expressed his future aspirations. She had to give him credit. She had assumed that he would dream of some couch-potato lifestyle playing video games in his parent's basement and eating junk food all day long. She hadn’t considered that he could be such a free spirit with an adoration for nature. She admired that really. She wouldn’t dare to attempt a career in the outdoors as her pale complexion didn’t bide well with the sun and her dislike of sweat prevented her from spending long periods of time outside.

“What about you Rae?” Garfield suddenly perked up.

“What about me?”

“What does your future look like?”

Raven considered the question carefully. She hadn’t put too much thought into it. She’d been trapped within her father’s influence for so long she didn’t see a life without it, though she couldn’t exactly tell Garfield that. “I haven’t thought about it…” she replied.

“What do you mean!?” Garfield exclaimed. “Like at all? No future dreams? You know... Like having twins, living in a suburban home with a nice spouse, traveling to Africa with your family on business trips…” Garfield didn’t realize he was unintentionally illustrating his own desires for his future life.

“Nope,” Raven declared.

“Why not?” he tilted his head curiously.

Raven shrugged, “I tend to live in the present and let life happen.” _It’s inevitable to escape your destiny, after all._

“Well, why don’t you think about it now?” Garfield challenged.

“Think about what?”

“What you want for your future! Come on, there has to be something you want to do!”

She thought about it for a second and responded, “Sitting down in a quiet place to enjoy a good book.”

Garfield rolled his eyes, “You can do that right now! I mean as in, big dreams like getting married or having a job or naming your children!”

Raven huffed, “I don’t want any children.”

“What!? Why not!?”

“They’re dirty, expensive, and vexing. I’d rather not have them,” Raven shook her head. Garfield pouted, though he wasn’t exactly sure why.

“Fine. What about _other_ dreams?”

“World domination,” she spoke the words firmly and clearly without missing a beat. Garfield felt a chill run down his spine at her abrupt claim.

“Uh…” he faltered. “You’re kidding, right?” he laughed nervously.

“Who says I am?” A small, contented smirk played out in Raven’s expression as she uttered the words.

Garfield pointed an accusatory finger at her, “There! You’re smiling!” It took a second for him to process his own assertion, and when he did, Raven assuredly went back to frowning. “You smiled!” he attested in shock.

“Yes, and?”

Garfield knowingly grinned, “So you’re not an unemotional robot.”

Raven glanced at him impassively, “No, I’m not.”

“I knew it!”

“So you are as ludicrous as I had predicted,” she stated in her customary monotone voice.

“Joke’s on you!” Garfield claimed smugly. “I don’t know what that means!”

Raven almost laughed at his undeniable absurdity. Key focus on _almost_.

Garfield was about to say something when the bell signifying the end of lunchtime interrupted him. Instead of finishing his running thought, he grinned, “I’ll see you next period, Rae?”

“I told you to stop calling me that.”

“Too bad I’ve never been good at following directions!”  

* * *

 

**Jealousy**

Garfield felt glad that gym class went by without any awkward incidents. In fact, the whole rest of the school day went by fairly quickly (mostly because he generally enjoyed Biology with Mr. Palmer even though his friends didn’t). When Garfield arrived home, he let out a relieved breath as he realized that Steve was going to be busy at a conference over at Gotham for the next two days, which essentially meant two relaxing days without a fight.

He could hear Rita moving around in the kitchen most likely cooking dinner. Garfield sighed and strolled towards the sound in an unhurried pace while burying his hands inside his pockets.

“Hey, Rita…” his gaze focused on the ground.

“Garfield,” Rita acknowledged.

He glanced at his adoptive mother with an ashamed gaze. “I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I was really angry with Steve, and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you,” he confessed.

Rita gave him a gentle smile and captured his hands in hers, “Don’t worry about it, honey. I forgive you. I know you didn’t mean it. Let’s just put it in the past and focus on the present,” she released his hands and walked to the stove. “Why don’t you help me cook dinner?”

Garfield grinned and rubbed his hands together like he was ready to eat, “Of course! What are we cooking today?”

“Nu-uh-uh,” Rita waved her finger disapprovingly. “Grab your apron first and wash your hands.”

Garfield rolled his eyes and headed toward the pantry. He grabbed a pink, polka-dotted apron from the inside and tied it around his waist. Then, he washed his hands in the kitchen sink. Rita watched him with an amusing smile and a hand on her hip.

“Alright, I’m ready for orders boss,” Garfield stood in front of her (looking down as he was a few inches taller than her) and feigned a soldier position.

“Great!” Rita excitedly clapped her hands together. “Let’s start by cutting up the vegetables!”

Almost an hour later, excluding the thirty minutes it took them to properly clean all the stains from the kitchen walls (food fights were exceptionally common on days when Steve wasn’t home and Gar and Rita could have as much fun as they pleased), they sat together at the table, dinner served and their plates stuffed with food. Garfield practically dug in the instant Rita finished serving her own plate.

“Thish foowd is delishowus, Riwta,” Garfield spoke unintelligibly with his mouth full.

Rita swirled her spaghetti around her fork and smiled at him, “Don’t talk with your mouth full, Garfield,” she scolded, though in a tender manner, before taking a bite of her own food.

Garfield gulped down his spaghetti and grinned widely, “Sorry Rita! You know how I can’t contain myself around your cooking.”

“Well, you did help me make it, so I don’t take full credit,” she responded after swallowing her own bite. “How was school?” she asked before taking another.

“It started off a little bad since I fought with one of my classmates…” he admitted. Then, he abruptly perked up, “But we made up, and I think I made a real breakthrough with her!”

“Her?” Rita questioned playfully with a sly smile.

Garfield’s cheeks tainted with a nice rose color as he remembered his conversation with Vic, “Yeah, she’s a new student at Jump. Her name’s Raven, and she’s kind of introverted and a bit ill-tempered at times, but she’s cool. Although, sometimes she scares me. We kind of got off to a bad start, but I don’t think she hates my guts anymore, at least not as much as during the beginning. She’s really… different from other girls, I guess. She doesn’t try to be fake, and she doesn’t do things for attention. In fact, it seems like she hates attention. She’s just an honest person in general. During lunch, I started talking about the accident in Africa and instead of apologizing like everyone usually does, she stayed quiet. So I asked her why, right? And she told me she didn’t like meaningless apologies. I think we’re going to end up being good friends, hopefully at least.”

“Oh, really?” Rita’s eyes were practically sparkling as Garfield spoke, not that he would have noticed since he was too busy staring off into space. “Are you going to bring her over some time? I’d love to meet this new friend of yours.”

“I don’t know. We’re not exactly friends yet…” Garfield confessed in a sheepish tone.

“From the way you spoke about her, I thought you guys were,” Rita tilted her head curiously.

Garfield shrugged and played around with one of his meatballs (ironic since they weren’t made out of meat at all), “Like I said, she’s really reserved, and she doesn’t completely tolerate me, but I think I made a big breakthrough today! I got her to talk a little bit more about herself, besides all the talking I did. And she smiled!”

Rita arched an eyebrow, “Is that not common for her?”

Garfield shook his head and took another bite of his food before replying, “That’s the only time I’ve ever seen her smile, and it wasn’t even a real smile. She didn’t even smile at all the jokes I told her yesterday, the ones you really like.”

“Oh,” Rita replied coolly, trying to contain her delight. “So… You like this girl?”

Garfield started to cough uncontrollably, almost choking on his meatball. He took a big gulp of his water to swallow it down. Then, he glanced at Rita who was noticeably trying to hold back her laughter. His face practically looked like a tomato as he replied, “Where did you get that idea from?”

“Hm, let’s see,” she placed a finger under her chin as if she were thinking thoughtfully about her reasons. “You visibly got really happy when you told me you made a breakthrough with her today, you blushed before you started talking about her, you described her like she was one-of-a-kind, you told her my favorite jokes which means you must have really wanted to make her smile, and you were staring dreamily at the wall throughout the whole conversation about her. But it’s just a hunch, though my instincts when it comes to you are usually correct.”

Garfield regarded her with an awed expression—his jaw hanging open and his eyes comically wide like a cartoon character. “How… What…?” he stuttered. He composed himself before attempting another sentence, “Rita, you never fail to amaze me with your attention to detail.”

Rita chuckled and placed her hand over Garfield’s on the table, “It’s called being a mother. And by that answer, I assume you’re not denying my allegation?”

Garfield looked down at the table, “I don’t know. I guess I’m slightly attracted to her… But we just met, you know? And… I don’t know, I’m a little hesitant after what happened with…” he choked before he could finish his sentence.

“... Tara?” Rita asked.

He only nodded.

“Honey, it’s been a while and… I think it’s okay for you to move on. I don’t think you should base your chances of a successful relationship on your first one. I know you really liked Tara, but she’s not the only girl you’ll ever fall in love with.”

Garfield nodded again, “I know, but now that she came back and after Steve invited her for dinner and all... I’m not sure I can.”

Rita sighed and removed her hand, “Gar, I’ll admit that I was also at fault for bringing Tara back. I thought that maybe you two could make up. I noticed that you hadn’t taken an interest on any girl after her, and I know that girls are interested in you from what I’ve heard. So I thought maybe if Tara came back and she was willing to go back with you, you’d be happier. But I realize now that it was a mistake to try to influence your love life. And now that you’ve told me about your new friend… I think she would really help you forget Tara.”

“Rita, not to offend you, but I don’t think you fully understand the situation,” Garfield answered quietly. “Having Tara around and the fact that Steve wants us to end up together is going to make things really complicated. Not to mention Raven isn’t even remotely interested in me.”

“Steve is a complicated and stern man. He’s also fairly…” she searched around for proper wording. “... short-sighted at times. He loves you in his own way, but he often doesn’t base his decisions out of the heart. That’s why he said all those things yesterday. Just know that I’ll always support you, and I’ll always want the best for you. And for me, the best for you involves following your heart, so don’t let what Steve wants for you determine your feelings or your decisions. Do what you feel is right for yourself.”

“But like I said, Raven isn’t interested,” Garfield repeated.

“How do you know that?” Rita posed.

Garfield took a deep breath before talking, “For starters, I told you I’m not exactly her favorite person. We’re also really different from each other. I mean, I love goofy jokes, and she’s super serious. I’m really extroverted, and she’s a complete introvert. I like thinking on my feet, and she seems to be the kind of girl who plans things out. I see the cup half-full, and she sees it half-empty,” he explained.

Rita processed his words for a moment before asking something completely unexpected: “Do you ever wonder how Steve and I ended up together?”

“Uh… I mean, I guess sometimes,” he scratched his forehead in confusion.

Rita smiled and looked up like she was reliving her memories, “We were co-workers in a laboratory back during our college years. We worked with your uncle Cliff and uncle Larry under the leadership of Mr. Caulder who we called the Chief. We used to call ourselves the Doom Patrol as a joke since we all had some kind of disability or illness back then. The first year Steve came in was a bit of a disaster. Your uncles hated him, and it seemed like Steve had really only joined to impress me. At first, I kind of disliked him. He was strict, bossy, and arrogant. We were nothing alike, so I didn’t even bother looking his way. By some miracle, he actually managed to woo me off my feet, and we ended up together after that. And though we disagree sometimes and our mentalities are very different, we still love each other in the end, and we wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice ourselves for one another.”

Garfield nodded as she spoke, “I understand… But why are you telling me this now?”

Rita regarded him with an affectionate gaze. She held his hand tightly before telling him, “Your father and I might be at complete ends of the spectrum, but we still love each other. So don’t completely eliminate the possibility that Raven might like you or eventually grow to like you. After all, you know what they say...” she giggled.

“What?” he asked.

“Opposites attract.”  

* * *

Irritated.

That’s how Garfield felt at the moment. He supposed that was Raven’s thing, but right now it seemed like Raven wasn’t exactly acting like herself.

First, she hadn’t shown up for Government at all. He had no faint idea what she was playing at, but she might have as well gotten expelled for missing so many days. She had already missed nearly two weeks of school!

Second, because she hadn’t shown up for Government, he was left alone in the back seat waiting for her like an idiot while the cute girls in the front row giggled at him.

Third, when she finally did show up for lunch, she had proceeded to ignore all of his attempts at a conversation and his jokes. She hadn’t even directed him a glance, keeping her eyes fixed on the book she held. And to think he had been convinced that he had made a breakthrough with her. Garfield had finally given up twenty minutes into lunchtime and started talking to Kory and Dick.

Finally, during seventh-period Pre-Cal, she had plopped down next to Victor who waved her over (she completely ignored when Garfield did it), and he was left to witness as Victor somehow managed to make the impossible come true. He made _Raven_ laugh. The impossibly unemotional soulless girl Raven laughed at the presence of his best friend Vic (though he was seriously doubting their friendship right now). How? He was clueless. While Garfield had essentially told her jokes for almost half an hour but to no avail and embarrassed himself more times than he’d care to admit, Victor had made her laugh in the course of a five-minute conversation. Of course, it hadn’t been an obvious full-blown cackle, but it had been a chuckle nonetheless. Perhaps Garfield was overreacting, but _Raven_ laughing (even as a faint chuckle) was kind of a big deal or so he thought.

Garfield wasn’t jealous. On the contrary, he was frustrated that it hadn’t been _him_ to derive the first signs of amusement from the apathetic girl. Okay, so maybe he was _kind of_ jealous, but it was for a valid reason.

Unbeknownst to him, the reason Raven had “laughed” had technically been because of him. The conversation had gone something like this:

“Something wrong Raven?” Victor questioned as she took a seat by him.

Raven pursed her lips and muttered a single word, “Garfield.”

Victor let out a small chuckle, “What did he do now?”

“He talked and joked almost throughout the whole lunch period despite the fact that I ignored him, which is usually a sign that people don’t want to talk,” Raven spoke through gritted teeth. “How do you even stand him?”

“Meh, the little guy stopped being annoying to me years ago,” Victor dismissed her statement. Then, he smiled faintly as an idea came to mind, “He’s always been like that. It’s hard for him to give up on any goal he sets his mind to,” he locked eyes with her, “And it seems like his goal right now is to make you laugh.”

“What does he gain from a random girl, who hates him, laughing?” she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

“You’re not a random girl, at least not to him. You’re his friend…” He thought about it for a moment and grinned, “Our friend. Not to mention, the little guy’s grown strangely attached to you. What did you do to get that to happen?”

Raven shrugged her shoulders impassively.

“Hm, that’s funny,” Victor pointed out. “Maybe he thinks you’ll grow to like him,”

Before Raven could contain it, she let out a faint chuckle, “I don’t grow to like people that easily… But perhaps we can be friends.”

“Well looks like the little guy succeeded,” Victor grinned cunningly.

“With what?” she snapped.

“In making you laugh.”

“I’d hardly classify that as a laugh.”

“Sure thing Raven,” Victor chuckled again before turning to the front of the class. Raven only rolled her eyes at that.

And so Garfield sat glaring at Raven and his best friend for the whole class period, his stomach turning with only one sentiment.

Jealousy is a dangerous feeling.  

* * *

“Yo, what’s wrong with you today, green bean?” Victor asked him as he rapidly pressed the buttons of his PlayStation controller. “You’ve been more… aggressive with your playing.”

Garfield let out a frustrated grunt when the words ‘Game Over’ flashed across the screen for the third time in one hour. He fell back on the bean bag he was sitting in and basically glared a hole through the basement ceiling.

“Dude! For real, tell me what’s up. You look like you’ve got lasers for eyes right now,” Victor placed his controller on the table in front of them and turned off the TV. He faced Garfield and observed him worriedly.

Garfield huffed in a passive-aggressive manner, “What were you talking about with Raven today during Pre-Cal?”

That caught Victor off-guard and he arched a curious eyebrow, “Where did that come from?”

“Just answer the question, dude…” he muttered.

“Well, we were talking about you,” Victor replied.

“What about me?” Garfield narrowed his eyes.

“She was telling me how you keep annoying her, and she asked me how I deal with you,” Victor told him.

Garfield bit his lip nervously, “What did you tell her?”

“Nothing bad,” Victor chuckled. “Why does this have you so bitter?”

“I don’t know… Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve been trying to make her laugh for the past few days and the first time I see her laugh is with you…” Garfield spat out before he could contain it.

Victor did the most unexpected thing at that moment—he burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Garfield glared.

“Are you…” _Laugh_ . “... seriously ...” _Laugh_. “... jealous of me and Raven?”

Garfield crossed his arms and pouted, “... No.”

Victor rolled his eyes, “Don’t deny it green bean. You literally just exploded on me.”

“Okay, fine! Yes, I’m jealous!” Garfield confessed rather loudly. “And?”

Victor blinked at him before grinning “... And you want to know what she told me after I told her that you were doing all these things because you thought she might grow to like you?”

“You told her that!? Dude!”

Victor ignored his allegation, “She told me that she didn’t start liking people that easily…” he paused before continuing. “But that perhaps you two could be friends.”

Garfield’s eyes popped open, “She really said that?”

Victor nodded, grabbed a hold of his controller, and raised it up, “Now can you calm down, and we can continue our gaming session?”

“... Yeah…” Garfield murmured before taking his own controller. He continued to die repeatedly in-game for the next hour, though this time it was because a certain indigo-eyed girl clouded his mind.  

* * *

 

**Plans**

"Hello, friend Garfield!" Kory greeted as she took a seat next to him during their second-period art class.

"Please call me Gar, Kory. I always cringe when I hear my full name," he admitted before glancing at her.

"Oh, I am sorry! Gar…" she corrected herself, "I hope you are having a most wonderful morning today!"

Garfield grinned. It had been a good morning considering Steve was still out on his business trip and Rita had cooked him his favorite breakfast meal: pancakes with extra syrup and tofu eggs on the side. "Thanks, Kory, it's been good so far. What about you?"

Kory clapped her hands together and beamed, her smile almost enlivening the whole classroom. Her eyes practically glimmered as she talked to Garfield about her morning, "Oh it has been wonderful! Dick and I spoke during the first hour, and he invited me to go get the ice cream with him after school! I cannot wait for-"

Garfield did a double take and almost fell off his chair. He turned around in a rather dramatic motion. "Woah, Dick asked you out?" he interrupted her with eyes like saucers. "Dude, I didn't think he'd have the guts!" he blurted out with a laugh and a pat to his knee. "Good for you," he patted Kory's shoulder. She examined him with bewildered eyes.

"Please friend, do not all humans have 'the guts' as you put it?" Kory tilted her head in confusion.

"It's an expression," Garfield waved a hand to dismiss it, and he changed the topic, "So you guys are going out this afternoon?"

"Ah, yes! I am most excited about it!" Kory smiled dreamily as girls usually did with guys like Dick. Sometimes Garfield felt a tint of jealousy at his friend but quickly dismissed it when he realized girls also swooned over him yet he usually ignored them. Though at that moment, he felt more jealous about the fact that Dick had a date with a girl he liked, yet Garfield couldn't even get the girl he liked to direct him a word.

"That's great, Kory. Just take it easy on Dick," he joked. "Human emotions aren't his specialty after all." And then it hit him. His eyes grew wide as an idea popped into mind. Perhaps he _could_ get a date with the girl he liked if only…

"Hey, since you guys seem to be getting more friendlier around each other… Vic, Dick, and I were going to the carnival tomorrow afternoon. Why don't you join us?" he offered inconspicuously. They hadn't planned anything, but she didn't need to know that. Plus, Garfield was convinced they'd say yes, _hopefully_ anyway.

"Oh! That would be most spectacular!" she uttered, though she furrowed her eyebrows after a short second. "But… Will I not be interrupting your male bonding time..?" Kory questioned.

"Not really! In fact, why don't you bring a friend if you're so worried about it?" Garfield grinned, making sure to keep his tone persuasive and unforced. He pretended to absentmindedly fiddle with the eraser on his pencil while staring at the table, and then, he went in for the kill. "You know, Raven doesn't seem to go out too often. Don't you think it'd be good for her to socialize and have some fun?"

"That would be perfect! But…" Kory's eyes fell to the ground. With disappointment in her tone, she stated, "I am afraid Raven would never accept such an invitation."

"Why not? You haven't tried," Garfield persisted.

"Well, no but… Raven is most complicated. She does not consider me as good of a friend as I consider her. I do not believe she would accept my invitation, especially if it means going out to a crowded place with other friends…" she explained in a low voice.

"Aw, Kory! Don't give up before you've even tried. I personally believe you'd be the perfect candidate to convince her to go. In fact, why don't we both try to convince her during lunchtime today? We team up against her and make it practically impossible for her to deny the invitation. That sound good?" Garfield proposed while placing a hand on Kory's shoulder.

Her visage brightened, and she gave him a white-toothed smile. "Yes! If we both do the 'teaming up' against her, we may be able to convince her!" Kory loudly squealed.  

* * *

"What's up, Rae?" Garfield asked with his signature goofy grin as he plopped down in front of her during lunchtime. As usual, her nose was buried inside a book, and she held an apple on her hand while taking occasional bites every time she turned a page.

"Don't call me Rae," she replied in her monotone voice, her eyes not leaving the object in front of her. Garfield felt glad that she was at least talking to him today.

He played around with his fork and directed his gaze to the table, "So, why were you out yesterday during government?"

"What's it to you?" her eyes trailed off the page and towards him with a surreptitious glance.

Garfield placed his hands in the air like he was being detained (which he felt often during his conversations with Raven), "Woah, no need to act aggressively. I was just curious. You miss a lot of days, and if you keep it up, you could be expelled," he shrugged, pretending not to care.

Raven shut her book and gently placed it on the table, "I doubt they'd expel me."

"How are you so sure?" Garfield inquired curiously. Maybe he could get some sort of answer out of her, though he always seemed to acquire more of a puzzle when he pressured her during their conversations, and he wasn't the best at solving puzzles.

"That's for me to know," she simply stated.

"... And for me to find out?" he furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head as she hadn't finished the saying. Was she trying to play hard to get? With a girl like Raven, it seemed improbable, and she wasn't exactly as easy to read as other girls.

"No. Just for me to know," Raven deadpanned as she grabbed her book and opened it again.

"Hey y'all, the party is officially here!" Victor exclaimed as he patted Garfield's back and sat down next to him. Dick took the seat next to Victor while Kory took the seat by Raven.

"Hello, friends!" Kory greeted while Dick simply gave an acknowledging nod.

"Hey Vic, you sitting here today?" Garfield asked as he glanced back at their old table where Jinx, Wally, Karen, Toni, and Roy were still sitting at along with some newcomers he couldn't recognize from the distance.

Victor prepped his hamburger as he answered, "Yeah, why wouldn't I sit with my best buds? What were y'all talking about, anyway?"

"Nothing," Garfield shrugged. Raven remained quiet as she munched on her apple and kept her eyes fixated on the pages of her book.

Garfield glanced at Kory and silently nodded when she locked eyes with him. She took a bite of her own hamburger before rolling their plan into motion, "Friend Raven-"

"You don't have to say 'friend' everytime you talk to one of your friends Kory," Raven interrupted her without so much as a glance.

Kory contained the need to squeal after hearing Raven acknowledge her as a friend. There were more important manners at hand, after all. "Raven," she started again. "Gar, Dick, Vic and I will be attending the carnival tomorrow afternoon-" Victor stopped chewing his hamburger and watched her with a baffled gaze while Dick seemingly choked on his drink. Garfield internally cringed when he realized he had forgotten to inform them about the plan. He locked eyes with Vic who regarded him with a questioning glance. Garfield simply shrugged as if to reply 'just go along with it.' He turned back to Kory all within the span of a second, "-and we would like for you to attend with us! It will be most fun! We may play the bottle games and ride the fun contraptions and do so many wonderfully exciting things! Will you please join us?" she asked with beaming puppy dog eyes. Raven put her book down and finally directed her a glance.

The sound in the cafeteria seemed to quiet down, and Garfield swore he could feel the air around them come to a halt (though he might've been exaggerating a bit but that's what it felt like to him). He internally readied his most persuasive voice and every argument he could use for the sake of convincing Raven to go (all of which he had written down and memorized during Biology).

"Okay," Raven responded.

"-but it's going to be so much…" Garfield paused as he processed her answer. The dots in his head didn't seem to properly connect, and he turned to her with a flabbergasted expression. "Wait a second! Did you just agree!?" Both Victor and Kory looked as astounded as Garfield did while Dick seemingly watched her with an arched eyebrow and what Garfield presumed were inquisitive eyes (he couldn't really see them through his shades).

Raven peered at him with a blank face before asking, "Did you not want me to agree?"

Garfield quickly recovered and started shaking his head frantically, "No, no, no! That's not what I meant! It's just-" he scratched the back of his head nervously and chuckled awkwardly, "I thought it'd be harder to convince you, that's all."

"I see," Raven simply voiced before directing her attention to her novel again.

The table remained overtly silent, though the confusion and shock seemed to morph into curiosity as everyone began to speculate the reason for her quick and off-character response. Dick was the first to recognize it, "I don't mean to pry but… Why did you agree? You don't seem to be the kind to enjoy the carnival, and I never really thought you'd agree to do something outside of school with us…"

Garfield wanted to glare at him, but honestly, he was pretty stunned himself and he also wanted to know her reason.

Raven shrugged her shoulders dismissively as if she were expecting the question, "I figured Kory would become more insistent if I denied the invitation, and Garfield would join her in an effort to get me to agree. Then Vic would eventually jump in to act as a wingman to his friend, and I'd spend the whole lunch period attempting to decline instead of enjoying some valuable reading time. Not to mention it doesn't seem that horrible of an idea considering you and Kory would be entranced with each other, and I figure Gar and Vic will distract themselves trying to prove who's better in useless carnival games," she affirmed while locking eyes with Dick whose face was now turning a bright shade of pink at the insinuation of him and Kory. "But it's just a hunch," she deadpanned as she looked back at her book.

"Ookay… So, we're going out tomorrow then…" Victor repeated the surprise plan while sending a 'you're-going-to-owe-me-after-this-one' kind of glance to Garfield. "Am I picking anyone up?"

"I can drive," Dick declined his offer before turning to Kory. "Do you, um, need a ride?"

Kory blushed and nodded, "That would be nice." She fluttered her eyelids and twirled a lock of her hair around her finger in the kind of innocently-naive-yet-hot way (as Wally had dubbed it) that Kory usually acted in.

"What about you, Rae? Want a ride?" Garfield wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"No thank you," Raven ignored his innuendo, taking it much better than he'd expected. Perhaps he could keep pushing her to see where it took him, though it seemed like a big risk. But then again, Garfield lived for risks. He silently took it as a future challenge.

"How are you gonna get there?" Victor posed, attempting to help out his friend. Garfield really did owe it to him. He tried not to worry about the future payments Vic would undeniably demand from him.

Raven's eyes didn't leave her book as she turned the page and took another bite of her apple, "I have a car."

"You have a car!? But I always see you walking!" Garfield alleged while pointing an accusatory finger at her.

"Just because I walk everywhere doesn't mean I don't have a car," Raven regarded him like he was an idiot.

"Heh, that's true…" Garfield replied while scratching the back of his head.

"Alright, so we're all set. Tomorrow at five sound good to everyone?" Victor confirmed. Everyone agreed, and the conversation carried on with Kory talking about her experience in cheerleading while Raven continued to read. Though Garfield nodded intently as Kory spoke to act like he was paying attention, his mind was too focused on brainstorming a plan for tomorrow. He smiled to himself, a sensation of excitement pooling inside his stomach as his mind conjured all sorts of dreamy scenarios with Raven. Maybe he was getting too ahead of himself.  

* * *

Garfield strolled out of the cafeteria with his hands in his pockets attempting to act smooth yet admittedly bursting with thrill from the inside. As he rounded the corner, he heard Kory's loud squeal before she jumped him from behind by putting her arms around him and practically swooping him off the floor.

"Kory- I can't breathe-" he choked out.

The girl bounced back while appearing embarrassed with herself. "I am sorry Gar! I am just so excited for tomorrow evening! I cannot believe Raven has agreed to go with us! We may finally spend time all together as friends! I am so happy that she has gotten more comfortable with us!" she vociferously confessed.

"That's great Kory, I'm excited too," Garfield managed a smile as he rubbed his aching ribs. He swore that girl had some kind of super-alien strength within her.

Kory continued blabbing about what they could do tomorrow as they walked to class alongside each other, though Garfield wasn't exactly listening to her. He felt like an inevitable twister was developing inside his stomach as he began to realize how anxious he really was. Sure, he considered himself to be pretty smooth with the ladies, but Raven was the kind he hadn't encountered—and it both thrilled and terrified him at the same time.

"... and perhaps you two could also ride the wheel of romance together!" _That_ caught his attention.

"Woah! Woah! What are you going on about?" Garfield came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the hallway. Kory turned to him with a smile as wide as the Joker's, "You and Raven! I have noticed the liking you have taken to her, and I think it would be wonderful to-"

"Hold up! I don't like Raven!" Garfield refuted while shaking his head. Was he really that obvious about his little crush? "Where did you get that from!?"

"Well… The way you look at her and try to include her in activities and you constantly annoy her to gain her attention... I believed it was easy to figure out," she innocently pointed out.

"But… Ugh! Fine!" Garfield crossed his arms while letting out an irritated huff. He was tired of continuously having to deny the accusations about his crush on Raven. He might as well just give in to the truth.

"So you do like her!?" Kory squealed as she jumped around in her spot and applauded.

Garfield quickly covered her mouth with his hand and looked around to make sure the hallway was empty. He sighed and released his hand, "Kory, please don't declare it out loud to the whole world," he spoke in a hushed whisper. "And I thought you already knew?"

Kory lowered her voice, "I hadn't confirmed it until you did." She smiled mischievously.

 _That sneaky little-_ "Well, I guess you know now," he breathed. "No use in denying it."

"I believe I could be of most assistance!" Kory perked up.

Garfield raised an intrigued eyebrow, "I'm listening."

"I could act as the 'wingman' you guys often speak about," she clapped her hands cheerfully. "Perhaps by getting you two alone together or talking positively about you or telling you valuable information you could use to impress her!"

Garfield scanned her carefully before he asked, "You'd really do that for me?"

Kory nodded her head like an excited little kid. Garfield suddenly beamed and tackled her with a hug, "Thanks, Kory! You're the best!"

From the corner, a devilish redhead was watching the exchange go down. He grinned slyly as he covertly ambled to his homeroom class and approached the jet black-haired individual he was searching for. He leaned casually on his desk and grinned when the individual looked up, "Hey Dick, perhaps you should make a move on your lady already. It seems like Gar and her are getting more _cozy_ with each other."

Dick narrowed his eyes, "What are you going on about this time, Wally?"

"Gar and Kory," he pointed his thumb back at the door. "They seem to be getting _really_ comfortable with each other. You know, being physically affectionate and all. Just saying, if you want Kory for yourself, you best make a move before he does," he smirked.

"Gar and Kory?" Dick huffed and waved his hand, dismissing his allegation like it was totally implausible. "Yeah right, like that'll ever happen."

Wally shrugged his shoulders, "Whatever you want to believe, dude. But don't deny that you're not even a little curious about what I mean," he winked before heading to his seat in the back next to Jinx.

"What was that about?" Jinx questioned as she regarded Wally with a curious glance. "You're starting your little childish games again? What is it now?" she spoke with interest.

Wally snickered before plopping down next to her, "You'll see soon, Jinxy-poo."

"Stop calling me that!" she slapped his shoulder.

"Ow," Wally rubbed the spot and sent her a glare. "When you stop being so violent," he stuck his tongue out while Jinx simply crossed her arms and muttered something about a 'childish bastard.'

Meanwhile, Dick sat on his desk with fists clenched and eyebrows furrowed. He reflected on the information Wally had just provided. He had been so convinced that Garfield was head over heels for Raven, and Wally wasn't exactly the best resource for information considering he loved spreading false rumors to entertain himself… But what if?

"You seem to be thinking very loudly over there," a monotone voice pointed out next to him.

Dick turned to see Raven on the desk by him observing him intently. Had she heard what Wally had just told him?

"Uh… It's nothing, just…" Dick hesitated before he voiced his speculation. "... Do you think Kory and Gar could be… more than friends?"

Raven considered his words for a moment, her face devoid of any expression, "I wouldn't be surprised if they were. They are very alike after all, and they get along very well, though I was convinced Kory had a thing for you," she admitted.

Dick contemplated her judgment carefully. Raven was very good at reading people it seemed, and her ideas sounded reasonable, after all. So did that mean..?

"I thought so too…" he replied quietly while directing his gaze at the ground. He decided there was only one person he could ask who was pretty good at interpreting people's behaviors and who knew Gar better than he knew himself.

And Dick was insistent on getting to the bottom of this new predicament.  

* * *

Victor minded his own business as he cruised down the hallway feeling rather proud about his A+ on his pre-calculus test. He opened his locker and inserted his history book. When he shut the locker door, his heart practically skipped a beat as Dick seemingly teleported next to him. He clutched his heart and regarded him with shock, "Dude! Don't do that to me! I was about to knock you out 'cause I thought you were the spirit of that dead theater girl!"

Dick sent him a questioning glance, "How do you knock out- Never mind! We need to talk."

Then, with his usual mysterious bad boy demeanor, he headed towards the boys' bathroom in the lone hallway. Victor followed him curiously, and once the door to the bathroom closed, he asked, "So... What's this about?"

"Hold on," Dick held his hand out before opening all of the stalls to make sure no one was spying on their conversation. Sometimes, he thought Dick was a bit too paranoid for his own good. "Alright, the premise is secured."

Victor huffed amusingly and crossed his arms, "Alright crazy guy, what's up?"

"Have you noticed anything odd about Kory recently?" Dick questioned as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms in an unusual way.

"Dude, you brought me to the boys' restroom acting all mysterious and shit and 'secured the premise' all to talk about Kory?" he snickered. "You gotta chill out, man. You always seem to be on edge."

"Okay, maybe I wasn't specific enough," Dick sighed and uncrossed his arms. "Have you noticed something odd about Kory _and Gar_?"

Victor raised an eyebrow, "Uh… No? Why?"

"... Has Gar mentioned anything about her? Like… Has he taken any unusual interest?" Dick questioned.

Victor opened his mouth to deny it until he realized he could toy around with Dick as payback for the time him and Gar convinced both Karen and Sarah (one of his good friends) that he wanted to go out with them on the same day. "Actually…" he started, trying to contain a grin. "Now that you mention it, I have been noticing that Gar's been hanging around Kory more often. Not to mention, Kory seems to enjoy his company a lot. So maybe…"

Dick stared at him with an appalled countenance and stuttered a few syllables, though none were audible enough to comprehend. Okay, so maybe Victor was being a little too cruel with the guy. He did seem to be pretty hung up on Kory.

"Dude, I'm just kidding!" Victor chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "You really are head over heels for this girl, huh? Don't worry about Gar and Kory. They're basically like siblings. Plus, they're too alike to ever work properly in a relationship. Gar also seems to be pretty into Raven at the moment. The little guy can't shut up about her!"

"Really..?" Dick let out a relieved breath. Then he quickly stammered, "I mean… I'm not head over heels for Kory. She's a great girl and all, but I don't know her enough to, you know, like her in a romantic sense."

"Sure thing," Victor wiggled his eyebrows before snickering again. "Now who gave you this dumb idea that Kory and Gar were an item?"

Dick sighed, "Wally…"

"Wally!? Dude!" Victor yelled. "You know better than to trust that dude! You know he's always wanting to start drama! He's the one who came up with the rumor about Kitty and you last year!"

Dick hung his head in shame, "Yeah, I know… Just, I don't know, I had to make sure."

Victor shook his head, "Just don't trust that guy. Someone really has to give him a taste of his own medicine…" he muttered.

Two invisible lightbulbs above their heads lit up, and they locked eyes at the exact same moment. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Dick asked with a devilish grin.

Victor grinned back and rubbed his hands as if readying them for a wicked plan, "We're going to give this guy a taste of the worst medicine there is."

"Revenge," they both asserted at the same time.


	3. Three

**Hope**

“Come on, Rae! Pleaaaase! You said you’d try to have fun! I don’t see how this is having fun!” Garfield insisted as he plopped down next to Raven on one of the tables by the food stands. He crossed his arms and pouted like a little kid, “You promised.”

“I didn’t, actually. I said I’d try,” Raven deadpanned as she took a sip from her water bottle.

“I’d hardly classify this as trying!” he grunted. They’d been at the fair for barely half an hour, and Raven was already seemingly getting fed up with being there.

“Why don’t you just go bother Vic?” she grumbled, her eyes wandering across the crowds of people sauntering along, chatting amongst each other, and overall making a racket. The sounds of game alarms blaring and vendors shouting at people to try their impossible games overwhelmed her ears. She grimaced, placing a finger at the bridge of her nose and massaging it gently.

Garfield huffed as he eyed the back of his best friend’s head, “He’s too distracted trying to win a stuffed animal for that redhead. Can’t we do something together?” he frowned, though he didn’t really believe she’d listen.

As predicted, Raven ignored him.

“Friends!” Kory cheered as she approached them with Dick beside her. Garfield couldn’t help the bitter sensation of jealousy that pooled within his gut when he noticed they were holding hands. He absent-mindedly glanced at Raven’s hands before quickly looking away to prevent her from noticing.

“Hey, Kory! How was the Ferris wheel?” he forced a smile (his expertise).

“Oh! It was glorious!” Kory unlatched her hand from Dick’s and bounced around in her spot. She rambled about the wonderful view and the romantic ambiance (causing Dick’s face to go red) for a few minutes until she finally noticed Garfield’s dismal smile as she spoke. Her eyes landed on Raven’s indifferent expression before she sent Garfield a sly grin. “Perhaps you and Raven could also ride the wheel of Ferris!”

Garfield felt his face warm up, and he peeked at Raven nervously. Though he was fully aware of what her answer would be, he couldn’t help the twinge of hope that arose inside his stomach. Raven glared at Kory and shook her head, “Being trapped with him for fifteen minutes in an enclosed space? No thank you.”

“Oh, but it would be-”

Garfield interrupted Kory, “It’s alright Kory. Raven doesn’t want to get on, and I’d honestly rather keep my life…” he chuckled while rubbing the back of his head to disguise his disappointment.

Raven arched an eyebrow but said nothing of it.

“Oh,” Kory clasped her arms together and gazed down. “Okay…”

Dick cleared his throat, “Would you like to get some cotton candy, Kory?” he offered, his face a bit flushed.

She suddenly perked up, and she squealed, “What a wonderful idea!” She grasped Dick’s hand and dragged him towards the food stands, once again leaving Raven and Garfield alone.

“So… Are you just going to sit here for the rest of the time..?” Garfield questioned. “If that was the case, then why did you even come?” he couldn’t help the denunciatory tone his voice adopted.

It was subtle, but Garfield noticed the way her back straightened as if the question had caught her off guard. Then, she stood up and faced him with apathetic eyes, “Fine. What do you want to do?”

Garfield practically jumped to his feet, “I know exactly what!” he beamed as he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards one of the game stands.

“One please,” he asked the vendor. The old man handed him a few balls. Garfield turned to Raven and grinned cockily, “Watch this.” He shot a few balls at the bottles. Two of them flew past their targets before one finally knocked down the bottom right bottle and sent the tower barreling down. “Woo!” he danced around in his spot cheering for himself. He faced Raven who was watching him with a raised eyebrow but otherwise unimpressed.

“Aw, come on. You’re the one who said these were impossible, didn’t you? You gotta admit, it was impressive,” Garfield stroke a victorious pose with arms akimbo and a goofy grin.

Raven rolled her eyes, “You’re insufferable.” Her eyes traced the crowd carefully, and Garfield tried to spot what she was searching for but after finding nothing, he whispered “What are you looking for?” in her ear.

She visibly tensed below him, and she moved away from him, “Nothing.”

He shrugged nonchalantly and turned back to the vendor. His eyes browsed the prizes until they landed upon one—the gold nugget amongst them.

“That one,” he pointed at it. The vendor snatched it from the hooks above him and handed it to him. Garfield turned to Raven with a wide smirk, “I got you something,” he told her.

Raven locked eyes with him just as he handed her the huge, rubbery toy. “A giant chicken… I must be the luckiest girl in the world,” she stated in a deadpan tone.

“I know right? You can thank me later,” he wiggled his eyebrows innocently.

Raven huffed and let the chicken go. Garfield caught it with one swift motion, “Gee, you could’ve just told me to hold it for you,” he smirked again. However, his smile faded in an instant and his eyes turned as wide as saucers when he caught glimpse of a familiar blonde walking towards them. They locked eyes—green to blue. She muttered something in her friend’s ear before she headed straight towards them. A sense of panic engulfed him and without thinking he grabbed Raven’s wrist and hauled her away in a hurry.

“What the hell are you doing?” Raven demanded as he dragged her along at a hasty pace, though she didn’t try to stop him.

“Wejusthavetogetoutofherebeforeshecatchesup,” he sputtered incoherently, his eyes wandering across the crowds of people and attractions in search of a safe house. They landed on a secluded tarp a few yards away from a lone hot dog stand. “There!” he uttered before they rushed inside. He let go of her, placed his hands on his knees, and attempted to catch his breath, “That… was… exhausting…”

“Would you mind explaining to me why you just dragged me across the whole carnival like-” he slapped a hand over her mouth to shut her up. Outside, he could hear footsteps approaching, and a feminine voice called out his name. Garfield’s face turned beet-red, but he didn’t remove his hand from over Raven’s mouth, who observed him skeptically yet also curiously.

When the footsteps diminished and the voice faded away, Garfield let go of his hand and chuckled sheepishly, his hand rubbing the back of his head, “Sorry about that… I saw someone I didn’t exactly want to talk to…”

“And you dragged me all the way to a…” Raven examined her surroundings, unsure of where they were. “What is this place?” she asked.

“I’m… not sure, actually,” Garfield meandered further down the dark hallway.

“Yes Garfield, let’s walk into a deserted place that we have no remote idea of what lies within. Such a wonderful idea,” she muttered sarcastically, though she followed closely behind him.

He dismissed her words, pushing past some kind of disheveled curtain and into a large arena full of discarded tables with cloths over them and chairs knocked on their sides, all surrounded by an arc of leveled benches.

“This looks…”

“Like I circus?” he finished the sentence for her. He traced his finger across the frame of one of the tables and revealed a thick layer of grime. “This place is old… I wonder why they don’t use it.”

“We should get out of here. I have a feeling we’re not supposed to-”

“Hold on,” Garfield placed a finger to his lips and shushed her, his ears catching the faint sound of voices outside. Raven was about to speak when he abruptly pulled her under one of the tables. He contained the need to sneeze from the dust particles all around them.

“What are you doing?” Raven whisper-yelled.

“Just shut up, someone’s coming,” he retorted.

Raven scowled at him but obeyed. The voices grew closer and closer until the individuals appeared to have walked into the arena. Garfield noted the way Raven’s breath hitched when an unheard voice spoke.

“Perhaps we could make use of it? It used to be a circus, did it not?” what sounded like a British man asked.

“Yes, sir. It ran out of business back in the 2000s. This was the last destination it ever traveled to. I believe it occurred after some kind of accident,” a second voice responded.

“Interesting. I believe an international circus would be the perfect place to smuggle merchandise, don’t you think?” the British voice posed.

A third voice pitched in, “But, sir, how are we going to kick-start this place back up?”

Footsteps approached them slowly until the individual seemingly froze in front of them. Garfield felt Raven scurry closer to him. He noticed her scrunched up expression and the way she chewed on her lip nervously. He instinctively placed a hand around her shoulders and pulled her closer. For a second, he thought she was going to jerk away from him, but she simply froze in her place—neither moving closer nor moving away.

“I believe this place needs a new face. Someone who might appeal to both men and women, girls and boys alike. A friendly mascot, dare I say,” the British man spoke.

“You know, Mr. M, family businesses appeal better to customers, and it would especially benefit a circus business considering it is family-friendly entertainment. Not to mention having a family pet as a mascot who can also work as the sole animal attraction will satisfy customers who enjoy animals while also preventing pesky nonconformists from accusing the business of animal abuse. Additionally, who would ever suspect anything malicious of a loving family?” the third voice suggested.

“You hold a good point,” the British man voiced.

“But, Mr. M…” the second voice began. “Where are you going to obtain what you refer to as a willing ‘loving family’? A married couple who does not have a tainted image yet is still well-known enough to have a good customer base?” he asked.

“Why, I thought you’d never ask. There’s a beloved soon-to-be husband standing right in front of you,” the British man announced. Raven seemed to shift uncomfortably next to Garfield, and he eyed her with concern. Why was she acting so jumpy all of the sudden? “As for a good image… What works better than the daughter and son of two famous CEOs of worldwide entertainment companies? The circus would be a valuable asset to our joined companies, and it would improve our reputation.”

“But, sir, I thought you and Trenton’s daughter were no longer together?” asked the second voice.

“It’s all in good time. My little bird will come around soon enough,” the man leaned against the table, causing a few dozen dust particles to shower from above them.

“Very well, sir. In the meantime, where will we store the… _merchandise_?” the third voice inquired.

The man above them chuckled softly, and for some reason, it sent shivers down Garfield’s back. “Oh am I glad you asked. There’s a club not far from here, very on the low, perfect for temporary storage and the perfect way to, as you Americans put it, cash in some extra dollars. Let’s go there right now.”

“After you,” one of the voices muttered, and the footsteps began to grow fainter and fainter until they disappeared.

Though they both knew the intruders were gone, Garfield and Raven stayed rooted in their places on the ground.

Garfield broke the uneasy silence, “So… I think we stumbled upon something we shouldn’t have…” he unintentionally murmured.

“You think?” Raven snapped. She slapped his hand off her shoulder and scooted away from him. She crawled out of the table, and Garfield followed shortly behind her.

“Do you think we should call the police or something..?” Garfield suggested, unsure of what they had exactly run into.

“And tell them what? That we heard three strangers talking about something we have no knowledge of?” Raven huffed as she dusted her jeans. “Like they’d help. The cops won’t do anything, trust me.” She spoke like she had experience with it, and Garfield felt a sense of curiosity overcome him, but he didn’t ask as he was fully aware that she’d never answer him.

Garfield buried his hands inside his pockets nervously, “Uh, so what? We just forget about it? It sounded pretty serious... ”

“It is the best course of action,” she affirmed, her voice quivering in the slightest, an ephemeral detail no one but Garfield could’ve caught (but he was a master at suppressing his emotions, and he knew what that sounded like).

“Are you alright? You seem… on edge?” he questioned with apprehension as he strolled towards her.

Raven glared at him, as usual (he was starting to think it was a defense mechanism), “I’m fine. Now let’s get out before they decide to come back.” She started to walk away, but he grasped her wrist gently and pulled her close before she could.

“Hold on, are you sure?” he turned her around to face him, and his palms held the sides of her face in a somewhat affectionate manner. She seemed too stunned to push him away. He scrutinized her visage carefully, searching for any alarming signs. His eyes caught sight of an odd detail cloaked behind her raven-colored locks. His thumb brushed her hair to the side and scraped over the faint bruising. His finger seemed to have rubbed off some type of layer of powder as it revealed a darker, uglier bruise beneath. He glanced at his finger with furrowed eyebrows. Though Garfield’s expertise wasn’t make-up, he was one hundred percent sure that was some sort of make-up powder.

“Were you trying to hide this..?” he asked quietly, concern tainting his expression.

Raven seemed to recover from her trance as she placed her hands on his chest and pushed him back. “That’s none of your business,” she murmured.

“How did you get that bruise? Don’t tell me you fell again?” his tone suddenly shifted from worried to accusatory.

“Idiot…” Raven rolled her eyes. “It was from the same fall.”

Garfield was unconvinced. He shook his head and replied, “I don’t believe you.”

“You don’t have to believe me. It’s my business. I don’t need a pretty boy like you to try to pry into my life to satisfy your need to act like a valiant hero,” she grimaced.

Garfield sighed, lowering his tone to adopt a different tactic, “Raven, please tell me the truth.”

“That was the truth. If you don’t believe it, so be it.”

“I’m your friend,” he abruptly stated as he strode forwards. “I just want to help you.”

“I don’t need any help, Garfield,” she breathed out. “I’m completely fine. I don’t know what kind of ideas you’re putting into your head about me, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with me. If you were my friend, you’d understand that.”

Garfield stared at her, scrutinizing her face once again for any sign of insincerity. He didn’t find any. Either she was an expert at lying to people’s faces or… “Sorry, I’m just… Very protective of my friends,” he muttered, his gaze hitting the ground and feeling slightly guilty about his accusations.

“Forget it, it’s fine. But please stop trying to pry into my life,” Raven told him. “If something were wrong... “ she paused momentarily. “I’d confide in you… as a friend.”

Garfield gaped at her with astonishment, “You… consider me a friend? And you trust me?” he stuttered, convinced that his ears were playing a trick on him.

Raven took a second, but she nodded. Garfield contained the need to pull her into an embrace, and he beamed at her, “I trust you too.” He walked beside her, making sure to keep a comfortable distance for her as to not scare her away, and signaled towards the exit, “Let’s get out of here.”

Raven bit her lip and ambled beside him. A swirl of remorse tormented her stomach when she realized how excited her words had made him. Sometimes, she wished she wasn’t so good at lying.

Though Raven still appeared tense, they spent the rest of the night playing games (well, more like Gar did), and he was able to win two more prizes for Raven. She was hesitant about it, but in the end, she accepted them. They met up with Kory, Dick, and Vic (who had seemingly been successful in his mission to woo the redhead considering they were walking beside each other arm-in-arm, and she was holding a stuffed rabbit in her hand) a little later and stuffed themselves with some unhealthy dinner (Gar’s dinner was the healthiest considering the few vegan stands had mostly vegetables in their menu).

Then, around eleven, they headed out of the carnival. Kory and Dick said their goodbyes before they walked to Dick’s adored Porsche together with Kory giggling about something while clutching tightly to his arm, which he appeared to be very happy about. Victor offered a ride to his new red-head friend and left shortly after his own goodbye, leaving Raven and Garfield alone by his car.

“I should get going, my father isn’t fond of me getting home so late,” Raven told him.

“You’re going to be okay?” Garfield asked with furrowed eyebrows.

She sighed and nodded, “I’ll be fine,” she forced a small smile, and a swirl of butterflies flooded Garfield’s stomach. Despite the smile being faint and fleeting, it undoubtedly made Garfield’s night one hundred times better.

“Well, good night. I’ll see you Monday?” he couldn’t help but ask considering she was constantly missing classes at random periods.

Raven nodded before strolling away to her vehicle. Garfield waited for her to get inside her car and pull out of the parking lot before jumped inside his own car grinning like an idiot. He turned on the engine and drove home, his mind clouded with excited and delighted thoughts about his new breakthrough with Raven. He had gotten her to admit she was his friend _and_ to smile all in the course of a few hours!

It had been such a long time since he’d felt like this about a girl, and he couldn’t help the ecstatic sensation that pooled inside his stomach. And despite Raven still acting closed off and somewhat impassive towards him or undeniably giving him an expression of irritation every so often and telling him to stop bothering her, one emotion overrode them all—hope.

* * *

“Alright, Gar, we examined the x-rays, and it looks like everything is stable. Your next appointment is in a month. We’ll see you then,” Lucy smiled at him as she handed him his results.

“Thanks, Lucy. Tell the kids I said hi and that I’ll go visit them soon,” he smirked.

“You better,” Lucy chuckled. “You know they love it when you come to visit. Not even the clown gets them as happy as you do. How do you do it, Gar?”

Garfield shrugged his shoulders casually, “It’s a gift, I guess. I realized a long time ago that I shouldn’t let my illness keep me from enjoying my life. If it ends on short notice, at least I lived to my fullest.”

“ _If_ it happens, but you know it won’t. You’ve only had two relapses since you contracted the illness, and both times you mysteriously got better. I’m starting to think you have some sort of superpower,” Lucy replied while she walked him to the front.

“You never know, but if you say so,” he considered it for a moment. “If I do ever relapse… And if I’m unable to myself, I want you to assure my parents that I was happy. That I did live my fullest, and that everything’s okay. That is if I don’t wake up again.”

“Don’t say that!” Lucy lightly slapped his arm. “You won’t get to that point as long as you keep taking care of yourself. You’ll grow up to go to college and attend vet school, meet a beautiful woman who loves you for who you are, and you’ll raise a great family together in your parent’s animal sanctuary,” she assured him.

“You know, I thought nurses weren’t supposed to promise anything to patients,” Garfield pointed out amusingly.

“We’re not, but you’re a special case, Gar. I’ve known you since you were a little boy, and you’re a fighter. You’re also the most cheerful and hopeful patient I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting in my twenty years here. That’s saying something.”

Garfield snickered, “Thanks, Lucy. I do try.”

“Take care of yourself, Gar. And find yourself a girl to make you happy,” she sent him a playful wink before she disappeared behind the hospital’s door.

Garfield buried his hands inside his pockets and smiled to himself as he walked out. He opened his car door, and he was about to get in when something stopped him.

“Gar…” the unwelcomed familiar voice called out.

Garfield clenched his fists and slammed the door shut. He turned to her and regarded her with a blank expression. He leaned against his car door and huffed, “How did you find me, Tara?”

“I still remember your hospital schedule…” she admitted. She put her hands behind her back and regarded the ground with a certain interest. He grimaced when he realized she was trying to guilt trip him into talking to her.

“What do you want?” he spat out.

“Gar, I just want to talk. I promise I won’t try anything, just… Can you please listen to me? I promise I’ll never bother you again after this…” she murmured, her hair shrouding her face and preventing him from determining if she was being sincere.

He toyed around with his keys, pondering her words carefully. He sighed, “Fine. Not here though.”

* * *

 

**Forgiving**

“Well?” Garfield questioned as he leaned against the trunk of the tree Tara and him had often climbed during their early years as best friends. He crouched down to grip a fist of small pebbles from the ground and aimed one at the water, causing it to skip across the waves generating ripples throughout its path before disappearing into the horizon.

He avoided Tara’s gaze, afraid that the feelings of nostalgia would consume him and cause him to make a stupid decision that would most likely end up hurting him in the long run. He couldn’t go back to her, not again. Why had he even agreed to come?

Tara plopped down on the rock overlooking the lake, her blonde hair strands still cloaking her face. “How have you been?” she asked.

Garfield let out a humorless snicker, “We came all the way here for you to ask me how I was? Cut it with the shit, Tara. I know you don’t care about me at all. If you’re just going to waste my time on small talk, I might as well leave,” he muttered as he buried his hands inside his pockets and turned on his heel to head back to his car.

“Wait! Gar!” Tara hurriedly intervened, leaping to her feet and grabbing his hand to prevent him from going. He snatched his hand away and kept his eyes fixated on the trunk of the tree. He didn’t want to find out what would happen if he looked at her. “I just wasn’t sure how to start the conversation… But I’ll get straight to the point if that’s what you want.”

Garfield didn’t answer. He instead walked over to the rock she’d been sitting on and sat down, his eyes tracing the lake desperately, hoping he wouldn’t let himself fall into her trench of hurtful lies yet again. He heard Tara settle down next to him, but he didn’t direct his gaze towards her.

“I spoke to your father again…”

“ _Adoptive_ father,” Garfield interrupted.

Tara sighed, “He’s still the most prominent father figure in your life, Gar. Don’t underestimate his efforts…” she paused to take a breath. “Anyhow, I spoke to Steve. I… I told him I didn’t want to get through with his plan, that I didn’t want to marry you or join our business in that way at least. He asked me why, and I told him that I didn’t want you to keep looking at me as the enemy… And I also didn’t want to sacrifice our friendship…” She noticed Garfield’s scowl, and she quickly corrected herself. “... What’s left of it, at least. I thought he was going to be angry about it, but he accepted my decision as did my father as well. So, I guess I just wanted you to know that I don’t want to force you into anything. I don’t want you to feel pressured to be with me, and I really wish we can at least be friends again. I’m not going to try to hit on you or anything, I realize I already messed up that path, but I guess what I’m trying to ask from you is just… Can I at least have my best friend back?” her voice cracked and something within Garfield snapped. He swallowed down the feeling of remorse overcoming him. “You know, the good old Garfield who I used to skip pebbles with from the top of this tree… The guy who once convinced me I could control the earth to make me feel better after I accidentally caused you to fall off the monkey bars and break your arm during third grade?”

Garfield couldn’t resist letting out a snicker, and he quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, scolding himself for falling into her act. Though he couldn’t help but wonder, was it really an act? Could she be luring him into another trap? Or was she being honest this time?

“Please, Gar? Can we just be friends again?” A cord wrapped around his heart and tugged tightly as she uttered the words. He felt conflicted. On one hand, she sounded completely honest and good-hearted, and he longed to return to those old days when it was just him and her facing against the world. On the other hand, he didn’t want to risk trusting Tara only for her to betray him yet again. Though at the bottom of his heart, he was sure that he wanted the same thing she did. He was sure that she was being honest this time. He wanted his best friend back—the girl who’d supported him throughout all those years that bullies tried to put him down or during those nights he ran away from home after Steve demanded too much from him.

“... Tara, it’s difficult to trust you again, especially after all those times you lied to me,” Tara opened her mouth to speak, but he continued before she could. “But… I know how you feel. I miss the old times. Back when we goofed off during our weekend meetups and played daily pranks on everyone and on each other. Or just coming here after a long day and winding down from a difficult situation…” He held his knees tightly to his chest and breathed out, hoping he wouldn’t regret what he was about to tell her. “So, I guess my answer is yes… We can try being friends again, even if it’ll be a little difficult to gain my trust,” he managed a small smile as locked eyes with her for the first time during their conversation.

Tara’s eyes seemed to recover the old spark that’d mesmerized him all those years ago, and her smile practically brightened their surroundings, “Thank you so much, Gar! You won’t regret it!” She tackled him with a tight hug that almost took his breath away.

“Woah, Woah, I’m pretty sure you want a _living_ best friend, so don’t strangle me with your hugs,” he managed to unlatch her arms from around his neck.

“Sorry,” Tara answered sheepishly. She sat back on the ground and looked off into the horizon where the sun was now visually setting and welcoming the moonlight. After a few moments of silence, she asked, “Who was that girl you were with at the carnival?”

Garfield found himself unintentionally smiling, “Her name’s Raven.”

When he didn’t elaborate, she curiously asked, “Is she your girlfriend..?”

Garfield couldn’t help but burst into a crazed pattern of snickers. He was able to get ahold of himself after he noticed Tara’s confused visage, and he managed to explain,  “Oh God no. She’d kill me before I could even try to ask her out. No, no, no, she’s not my girlfriend! She’s just a friend,” he assured, though she didn’t look convinced.

Tara arched an eyebrow and grinned mischievously, “Ooooh, really? So you're implying that you totally would ask her out, then?”

Garfield's expression twisted into a deer-in-the-headlights kind of look. “I did not say that!” he proclaimed.

“Sure you didn’t…” Tara snickered, but she let it go (at least for the time being). She stared off into the distance for a moment as if breathing in the view. “I missed this…”

“What, you teasing me?” Garfield shouldered her gently.

“That too,” Tara laughed. “Mostly just being with you, not fighting. Just being your friend.” She locked eyes with him. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, Gar. I don’t know why I ever doubted that,” she confessed.

Garfield smiled before placing an arm around her shoulders and bringing her into a tight embrace—not a romantic one, but one that arose dozens of nostalgic memories of their friendship as kids. And he realized that no matter what Steve demanded of him or what life decided to slap him with, Garfield knew he’d be just fine.

* * *

“Daughter, I’ve been awaiting your arrival. Would you care to share where you’ve been for the past day?” Trenton inquired, his voice stern and his posture exuding dominance.

Raven would’ve been lying if she’d said it hadn’t arisen even a twinge of fear inside her. “I’ve been out… with a few… _friends_ ,” she spoke the words with caution, her eyes tracing her father’s countenance attentively.

“Friends?” Trenton spat out as if she’d just offended him. “Out with a few _friends_?” he strode forwards, his footsteps echoing across the room. He stared down at her petite silhouette in an attempt to intimidate her. Fortunately, Raven had already mastered her expressionless facade, and she simply stared back.

“Tell me… Who are these _friends_ of yours?” Trenton questioned, and she recognized the kind of game he was trying to set up, which she wasn’t going to let him win.

“Nobodies. Just a few acquaintances I’ve made to keep other people away,” she answered, her tone cool and assertive.

Trenton narrowed his eyes at her. “Very well,” he stated. “Though I’d be careful with these _acquaintances_ of yours distracting you from your duties as my daughter. We wouldn’t want them to suffer from unexpected and… unfortunate consequences, now would we?”

Raven’s fists clenched, and she contained a snarl. She bit down on her tongue to keep her from saying anything she’d regret, and she only nodded.

“Now, Malchior has been awaiting your arrival,” Trenton spoke. A few moments later, Malchior stepped into the living room, his hands inside his pockets and his nefarious grin evident on his expression. “We have some important news for you. I suggest you listen carefully, and you keep your mouth shut. After all, you don’t exactly have a say in this decision.” His gaze turned to Malchior who’s eyes were fixated intently on Raven.

Raven turned to him, a swirl of negative emotions pooling inside her stomach as she predicted what he was about to tell her.

“You’re looking beautiful today, my dear,” Malchior grasped her wrist gently, an odd movement coming from him. He was usually more possessive and dominant over her.

“Just get to the point,” she scowled, knowing full well what was about to take place.

“If you insist,” he smiled. His other hand reached into his pocket and removed a simple black box.

Perhaps other girls would have swooned at the sight of an attractive young man removing such an object from his pockets or their stomachs would be overturned with nervous and thrilled butterflies. Perhaps it could have appeared as those stereotypical proposal scenes in romance flicks or in those countless professional pictures of proposals advertised online and on TV. It could have even been a distressful moment as she realized she’d be forever trapped within her father’s and Malchior’s grasp. However, it was none of those things. On the contrary, Raven felt nothing. The twister inside her stomach diminished as quickly as it appeared, and there was only emptiness.

There was nothing to be shocked about, really. Raven already knew her destiny overruled any future plans she’d desired. That was the reason she never bothered to wish for anything at all. It was pointless to do so, at least for her. Her destiny was preset, and the only hopes for a change would be running away. But she wasn’t that stupid. She knew her father had eyes and ears everywhere, all puppeteered by his demonic influence and immoral commands. The longest she could spend as a runaway would be a week before somebody found her, kidnapped her, and brought her back (or killed her if one of her father’s enemies got ahold of her first). And yet, the thought didn’t bother her, because it was the kind of mindset she’d trained herself for.

Malchior slipped the elegant, gold band onto her finger, his gaze never leaving hers. It was a battle of supremacy. And Raven didn’t intend to lose.

“We have decided the wedding will take place right after your eighteenth birthday as to not arise any kind of unwanted attention. For now, however, an engagement ring makes sure you know exactly where your place is. And it makes sure you don’t try anything absurd to ruin this arrangement,” Trenton explained.

Malchior unclasped his hand from her wrist, and she let it fall to her side. She didn’t say a word. What was there to say? She had no choice, and if she tried to argue, she’d only accomplish a second beating (and she really didn’t want to have to explain more bruising to Garfield who was insistent on prying into her life).

“We will be dining this afternoon to celebrate this occasion,” he continued. “I expect you to be ready to go by five.”

Raven nodded, and she finally unlocked her gaze from Malchior’s when she turned to walk away.

“And Raven,” she stopped to listen, but she didn’t look back at her father. “I presume you know what will happen if you misbehave this afternoon around our _guests_.”

Her silence spoke for itself, and she dismissed herself to her bedroom—her mind devoid of any sentiment or thought. And for once, she longed to be the robot Garfield had thought her for.

* * *

“Hey, Rae! How are you today?” Garfield plopped down in the seat next to her in the cafeteria table. As usual, Raven’s eyes were intently fixed on the novel in front of her; this time, the lucky winner was titled _Macbeth_.

“Fine,” she muttered as she took a bite of her apple, the rest of her food sitting in the tray in front of her untouched. He wondered to himself why she didn’t eat, but he didn’t voice his inquiry. They weren’t that close just yet.

“What’cha reading?” he asked in his usual irritating voice.

“A work by Shakespeare,” she replied, and Garfield was honestly caught off-guard by how easy it was to get her to answer _something_ (even as simple as a question about her book). She usually ignored all of his questions or his talking in general.

“What’s it about?” he pressed, hoping she’d continue to share if anything to hear her voice.

“The deep-rooted nature of greed within humans specifically triggered by a place of power and how it affects our judgment and morality,” she told him, her words coherent and not missing a beat.

If he were to be honest, the words traveled through one ear and exited through the other without a single ounce of comprehension. He didn’t mind, however. He just liked hearing her talk in her typical intelligent way.

“Interesting,” he replied, his eyes attentively tracing her features.

“Is there something interesting about my face?” she questioned in a deadpan tone as she turned the page.

“It’s certainly more beautiful than the Mona Lisa,” he blurted out, though he quickly slapped a hand over his mouth when he realized what he’d said, and he could only hope she wouldn’t murder him on the spot for hitting on her (once again).

Raven’s eyes turned away from her book, and she arched an eyebrow at him, “You realize that won’t have any effect on me?”

“Phew,” he chuckled nervously. “For a second there, I thought you were about to murder me.”

She rolled her eyes and returned to her book. A few minutes later (of which Garfield spent his time awkwardly trying to look at anything but Raven), Kory and Dick arrived.

“Hello, friends! How are you on this most beautiful day?” Kory asked with a wide smile adorning her expression.

“I’m doing great, Kory. How about you?” Garfield smiled back.

Kory cheerfully clapped her hands together, “Oh, I have been doing wonderful today! What about you Raven?”

“Fine,” she replied as she had to Garfield, her eyes focused on the novel in front of her.

It appeared that Kory felt sufficed with her answer, as she turned back to Garfield and Dick and started rambling about cheerleading practice. They went on through their usual lunch routine (minus Victor who was sitting with Karen and the others today)—with Kory blithely chatting and leading the conversation alongside Garfield, Dick commenting when he felt it was necessary, and Raven simply ignoring them (though Garfield had noticed she seemed more comfortable with them in comparison to the previous week).

After lunchtime was over, Garfield followed after Raven like a love-struck puppy as they walked to their physical education class. He, of course, had to leave her when she entered the girl’s changing room, and he made his way to his own. Dick and Wally strolled in right after him and headed to their lockers while Garfield started to change.

Just as he was tying his shoelaces, a resounding gasp echoed across the room (that made him wonder if a girl had snuck into the boy’s changing room considering its high pitch) followed by uncontrollable laughter from the guys next to him. He turned to see Wally handling some _very_ small and bright pink shorts along with an equally small purple tank top.

“What the hell!?”

“Nice outfit, Wally! Where you headed to? Dance rehearsal?” one of the guy’s exclaimed with a snort.

Wally didn’t answer considering he was too busy gaping at the garments in front of him. Dick was trying to contain his laughter next to him, though it was painfully obvious that it wasn’t working.

Wally seemed to snap out of it as he started frantically searching through his stuff for his actual gym uniform but to no avail.

Garfield bit down on his lip to prevent himself from snickering, “Welp, you’ve got less than three minutes to decide whether you’ll wear that thing or skip gym class.”

“Are you kidding me!? I’ve already skipped three times in the past two weeks! Coach Z is going to kill me!” Wally exclaimed, his eyes wide as saucers as he stared at both of them. Dick seemingly shrugged, his shades obscuring his expression, though Garfield could tell he was amused (which made him wonder if he had anything to do with the mysterious disappearance of Wally’s gym clothes).

“Well then,” Garfield gave Wally a pat in the back. “I guess you’ll be hanging out with the girls today,” he snorted before heading out of the changing room.

“Logan!” Coach Z exclaimed as he entered the gym. “Where are Grayson and West?”

Garfield shrugged his shoulders as he strolled towards the boy's section. Shortly after, Dick walked in followed behind by Wally who was dressed in the tiny pink shorts and the tight purple tank top with his face resembling a volcano on the brim of exploding.

“Look at Wally over here cosplaying as a girl!” one of the guys yelled before they all burst out laughing. Wally’s mouth opened and shut as if he were trying to think of a comeback, but it seemed like nothing came to mind.

“Alright everyone, settle down. Today we’re doing a group activity, so get into groups of five,” Coach Z announced.

Dick and Wally joined Garfield who was struggling to keep in his laughter as he gaped at Wally, “That’s a good look on you, Wally! You should wear it more often! It really shows off your butt!” he joked.

“Shut up,” Wally muttered through gritted teeth, his fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly.

Kory dashed towards them, her hand grasping Raven’s wrist and dragging her over. “I very much admire your outfit today, Wally! It is very pink!” she smiled, oblivious to Wally’s embarrassment and the guy’s insults.

“I agree. It really suits you,” Dick grinned while Wally simply glared daggers at him. Even Raven had a small smile playing out on her expression.

“Shut it, Grayson,” he muttered. “You’re going to pay for this.”

“I don’t know Wally,” Dick continued, his smile widening. “You should be careful with what you wish for.”

* * *

Garfield scurried towards the back exit of the school, struggling to shove his books and papers into his backpack as he did. It’d been an amusing day what with his A+ on his Biology test and Wally having to parade his stylish outfit around the school (his clothing had mysteriously disappeared from his locker yet again, leaving him in his gym attire for the rest of the day). Later, they’d found out that Dick and Victor had been the culprits of the ingenious prank as payback for whatever mischief Wally had been up to in the past week (Garfield really had no clue, but Wally probably deserved it).

Regardless, the school day was now over, and Garfield was more than ready to go home. Rita had invited Tara and her family over as a way to make amends after the whole Steve situation and her and Garfield’s reconciliation. Though Steve appeared to be upset about it (even though he told Tara he wasn’t), Garfield knew he wouldn’t put up a fight during dinner considering he’d already made a scene in front of Tara, and he wasn’t about to do it in front of her parents as well.

Garfield hurried out of the school and towards the parking lot. However, as he was about to round the corner of the building, he heard an _extremely_ familiar voice, and he froze in his tracks.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Raven questioned. Garfield tried to peek around the corner at the individual she was talking to, but he decided against it considering he’d risk getting caught. Though it felt rude to eavesdrop on her conversation, he found that he still didn’t know much about her, and he felt like she was still hiding things from him (not that she had the obligation to tell him everything, but they were friends, and friends confided on each other).

“You don’t have to act so insolently, my dear,” a British male voice replied. Garfield couldn’t exactly place his finger on it, but his voice sounded strangely familiar. Where had he heard it? “I came to drive you home.”

“I’ve told you before that I don’t want you anywhere near this place,” she snarled in her typical Raven-like way.

“I’m sorry Raven, but you don’t exactly get to decide that,” he retorted, his voice turning aggressive. Garfield had the abrupt desire to turn the corner and smack him in the face for talking to her in that way, but he resisted.

“Look, if you’re going to make a scene. Let’s do it elsewhere,” she sighed.

His voice seemingly returned to its composed and gentlemanly tone, and he replied, “As you wish, my dear.”

Garfield heard the alarms blaring inside his head as he realized they were headed straight towards the corner he was hiding by. He stumbled about trying to find a place to shield him, but like the idiot he was, he accidentally dropped one of his textbooks which smacked down on the ground just as Raven and the anonymous man rounded the corner.

His stomach dropped the moment his eyes landed on Raven’s companion, and he instantly recognized him. It was the man from the carnival. The man they’d heard talking about suspicious dealings, and his brain crowded with dozens of questions—the most prominent being, _what the hell was she doing with him?_

“Garfield,” Raven acknowledged, her voice remaining calm, though he spotted a speck of alarm in her eyes. “I thought you’d gone home,” she stated, but her eyes seemingly asked something else, which Garfield translated to somewhere along the lines of what the hell was he doing eavesdropping on them?

“I- uh-” Garfield stuttered, his mouth drying up, and his tongue unable to catch the right words. He was still gawking at the man, his brain attempting to properly connect the dots but to no avail.

“Care to introduce me to your friend?” the British man questioned, his eyes tracing Garfield’s expression inquisitively.

Raven appeared to be hesitant, and she spoke the words cautiously, “Garfield, this is Malchior. Malchior, this is Garfield.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Malchior smirked and offered his hand.

Garfield snapped out of his trance and gripped his hand, inadvertently grasping it tightly as they shook hands. “Likewise,” he asserted, his voice unusually aggressive. Their eyes locked in what seemed like a silent war, only glaring at each other.

Raven intervened before either could say anything, “Well, we really have to get going,” she announced as her hand latched onto Malchior’s wrist (and otherwise sparking a pang of jealousy within Garfield’s stomach).

Malchior casually draped his arm around Raven’s shoulders and strolled towards the parking lot, his gaze still fixated on Garfield before he finally turned away. Garfield didn’t stop glaring at the back of his head until they disappeared into a black Ferrari and pulled out of the parking lot. When the car was finally out of sight, he felt the urge to scream out in frustration.

Who the hell did that man think he was? Was he really the man from the carnival? How did Raven even know him? Most important— _what was she doing with him?_

He ambled aimlessly towards his car, his mind running with all sorts of bemused thoughts. He didn’t realize he was gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white as he drove home nor did he realize he practically slammed the car door and the main door as he headed into his house. The only thing his brain could fixate itself on was the way he was going to confront Raven about everything. It was time to stop listening to her excuses.

Garfield needed answers, and he was going to get them one way or another. 

* * *

 

**Lies**

“Raven!” Garfield called out as he jogged towards the petite girl during their first passing period. Her dark hair shrouded most of her expression, but even though he couldn’t see most of her face, he recognized her scowl.

“What do you need?” she sighed as he caught up to her.

Garfield bit his lip and buried his hands inside his pockets as he strolled down the hallway next to her, “Can we talk?”

“Aren’t we already talking?” Raven asked, her tone sounding more annoyed than usual.

“I think you know what I mean,” Garfield latched onto her hand and stopped her. Raven turned on her heel and scrutinized him with a sharp glare. He let out a deep breath before elaborating, “That man you were with yesterday… He was the one we heard at the carnival,” he stated without a single ounce of doubt.

Raven observed him with a blank stare, and he tried desperately to read her expression, but it didn’t seem to work. “Perhaps,” she replied after a few seconds of intense staring. “But that’s none of your business, Garfield. You don’t have the right to eavesdrop on my private conversations nor do you have the right to question me.”

Garfield sighed, “Okay. I know it was wrong for me to listen in, but is it so wrong for me to be worried about you?” he posed, frowning at her.

She let out an amused huff, and she crossed her arms, going back to intently glaring at him. “There’s nothing to be worried about,” she told him.

“Raven…” Garfield bit his lip, his eyes searching her own. “Don’t tell me there’s nothing to worry about. I saw the way you were acting when we were at the carnival listening to those men talk. You weren’t okay then. And now I find out that you actually know this dude? Can you please tell me what’s going on? I thought you told me you could confide in me.”

Raven regarded him with an unreadable expression. For a moment, he thought she wasn’t going to answer, that she was going to run away and never talk to him again. But she didn’t, and the words she uttered next undoubtedly shocked him.

“Okay,” she sighed. “But not here,” she looked around as if she were paranoid that the walls were listening in on them. She strolled down the hallway towards the girl’s abandoned bathroom, and Garfield followed behind her, struggling to keep up with her fast pace. For such a small girl, she was incredibly swift on her feet.

When they entered the bathrooms, Raven let her backpack fall to the floor, and she checked through all of the stalls to make sure they were empty. Meanwhile, Garfield leaned against the wall and curiously observed her, unsure if he should be worried about what she was going to tell him. She walked to the door and locked it before turning towards him.

Garfield chuckled nervously, his defense mechanism kicking in, “You’re not going to murder me for questioning you?” he lamely joked.

“Are you going to act serious for once?” Raven crossed her arms and glared.

He raised his hands up in defense. “Sorry, sorry. It’s instinct,” he stuttered. Then he made a zipping motion in front of his lips. “My lips are sealed.”

Raven rolled her eyes and breathed in. She was silent for a few moments, and Garfield was afraid that if he said anything, she’d back away again. She was finally going to confide in him about something important, and he didn’t want to mess it up like he usually did.

“My father’s the CEO of an entertainment company,” she started, her tone calm and decisive. “You’ve probably heard of it. It’s called Skath Entertainment.”

Garfield’s jaw dropped, “Your father’s the boss of Skath Entertainment!? One of the top global entertainment companies? What!? I didn’t even know he had a daughter! I’ve never heard of you or seen you on the news!”

“That’s because he doesn’t let the news crews near me as to give me a ‘normal life’ is what he calls it, and that’s probably why you’ve never heard of me,” Raven explained. “I’d appreciate it if you kept this under the rug. As you can see, there’s a reason to why I’m very secretive about my personal life,” she gave him a look. Garfield nodded and signaled for her to continue. “Anyhow, Malchior is the son of one of my father’s business partners. He runs a smaller entertainment company which I won’t disclose the name of considering you probably won’t recognize it since it’s widely known mostly in Europe. His father has been letting him run several of the company’s sectors considering he acquired his college degree early. He’s been fairly assertive with his ownership, and he’s been planning for new incorporations for the company—one of which you heard of during the carnival, which is managing an international circus. To other people, his mannerisms and the way he speaks might sound somewhat _malicious_ , but it’s really one of his acts to assert his dominance among his employees and people he considers potential threats. Overall, he’s fairly harmless considering his father has only ever given him the illusion of power. What you heard back at the carnival was just him attempting to act like a successful businessman. And that’s the end of the story, really. As I said, there’s nothing to worry about. You seem to like to make a big deal out of meaningless details in your head,” she told him. “Probably because this country seems to drill the idea of chivalry into little kid’s heads,” she muttered.

“Hold on a second!” he raised a suspicious finger, his brain attempting to process everything she’d just disclosed. “I still have a few more questions. One of the things that stood out when he was talking back at the carnival was that he implied he was going to force a girl into a marriage, which to me sounds like a malicious thing. I recall hearing something about “Trenton’s daughter” or whatever, but it didn’t really come to mind that he was talking about Skath Entertainment’s CEO. Does that mean he’s trying to force _you_ into marrying him!?” he questioned, though it sounded more like an accusation.

Raven huffed, “Malchior seems to be convinced that we’ll end up together in the future, an idea both our fathers are very fond of. He can’t force me into anything, however. As for the way he speaks, he’s just a dick—the main reason to which I won’t marry him.”

Garfield let out a relieved breath, though he chuckled awkwardly when he noticed Raven’s raised eyebrow. He cleared his throat, “My other question is… From the way he was talking about merchandise or whatever, it sounded like he was planning on…” his words trailed off as he was afraid to continue the sentence considering he might be totally incorrect in his assumption, and it wasn’t a nice one.

“As I said before, Malchior has a tendency to speak with a sort of malevolent tone. I think he believes it makes him sound assertive or whatever. Merchandise refers to their importation of alcohol. Like a typical greedy businessman, he wants to find ways to smuggle it in to avoid the tariffs set in place,” Raven clarified, her voice devoid of any sort of uncertainty and concern. “It’s most definitely illegal, but he’s convinced he’ll get through with his plan successfully.”

Garfield gawked at her, his mouth repeatedly opening and closing, unsure of what to say. “Oh,” he simply stammered. “That’s… not as bad as what I was thinking.”

“It’s illegal, nevertheless, but Malchior doesn’t have that kind of power just yet,” Raven retorted. “Now are you finally going to eliminate those blatantly ridiculous ideas of me being some sort of damsel in distress from your head?”

“Uh, heh,” he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Sorry, Raven… For mistrusting you, I was just really worried. I thought he might’ve, I don’t know, threatened you or something, and I really just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Raven simply nodded. “It’s fine. But if I find out that someone else knows about all of the things I’ve just told you, you’ll be in for it,” she threatened, and Garfield gulped down his sense of apprehension as she glared daggers at him.

“I promise I won’t tell anyone,” Garfield squeaked, his eyes wide with terror.

She rolled her eyes again. She grabbed her backpack from the ground and unlocked the door, “Well, you’ve made us both miss class with your ridiculous assumptions. I assume that you won’t be making any more of those?” she glanced at him.

Garfield quickly nodded and followed behind her as she exited the restrooms. He ambled beside her as they headed towards their classrooms. “I’m guessing I’ll see you in detention this afternoon?” he asked as he stopped next to his classroom’s entrance.

“I told you to stop making assumptions,” she let out before continuing down the hallway to her Homeroom period. Garfield chuckled to himself and walked inside, readying himself for the lesson from Mrs. Andrews about skipping class that he was inevitably going to have to sit through.

Much to his surprise that afternoon, he was stuck in detention by himself, and he suddenly understood what Raven had meant with her words. He spent his time looking out the window, both curiously wondering how Raven seemed to get out of trouble so easily and contented with the fact that she’d finally trusted him with something important.

And alas, he also found himself falling deeper into her enchantress-like charm. 

* * *

Days turned into weeks which turned into months spent in their usual routines. Steve and Garfield were still on somewhat bad terms after his reconciliation with Tara. On the other hand, Rita and Garfield were now closer than ever. Rita was slowly beginning to stand up for herself during Steve’s arguments, and Garfield felt prouder for his adoptive mother than he ever had. He and Tara were also on great terms. They were gradually beginning to return to their original status of best friends. Awkwardness after such an intimate relationship following by a harsh breakup was only natural, but it was a surprisingly smooth transition for Garfield. He found himself looking at Tara with a new set of eyes, and he discovered a new type of affection for her. One that made him realize that he’d never truly been in love with her. It had all just been an intense form of platonic devotion, one that could only develop between two best friends who understood each other.

Tara was now attending a private art school a few miles from Jump City High where she declared herself a proud single lady until a guy managed to swoop her off her feet. Garfield was fairly fond of the guy. He was charismatic, clever, funny, and sweet, and he sometimes had joke-offs with him during their nights out with Tara’s artsy friends.

Garfield also went out often with his own friends. Kory and Dick had barely started dated only a few weeks into their spring semester after Dick had finally gotten the balls to ask her out (even though they were practically already dating despite them not realizing it). Victor had spent about two months dating the red-head he’d met at the carnival until they realized they weren’t very compatible with each other. After that, he’d abruptly told Sarah he still loved her, and both of them had gone back to being a happy couple. Jinx and Wally were still caught up inside their on-and-off relationship, seemingly dating for a few weeks (though they really just appeared like make-out buddies) and fighting for another few weeks. The whole squad, including Toni, Karen, Roy, and his new girlfriend Jade, went out every other weekend, often to the bowling alley, to play laser tag, or sometimes to just hang out at Karen’s place. More often than not, however, it was only Garfield, Kory, Dick, Victor and Raven (she didn’t like to join them during their larger squad meetings) going out to the pizza parlor, the arcade, or the carnival.

Everything dealing with his condition had been going well so far as Lucy had predicted. He was still attending his monthly checkups. Tara joined him every time as she had usually done back then. Besides Victor, she was the only one who knew the logistics of his illness—everybody else was just aware he had some sort of condition, which could’ve been asthma for all they knew. Overall, Garfield felt better than ever before.

Then there was the situation with Raven. The dark beauty was still acting as mysterious as ever, though Garfield no longer felt as worried about her ever since he had found out the truth. She was a lot more comfortable with everyone, and she even sometimes joined their discussions during lunch. She smiled more often (even though they were almost microscopic), and on rare occasions, he had heard what sounded like a small laugh from her, though he could have also been hallucinating. He found that his feelings for her were only intensifying, and he desperately wanted to come clean with her, but he wasn’t sure that she felt the same way. He also found that they were a lot more open with each other. He loved to tease her, and sometimes he even dared to put his arm around her shoulder, which she would promptly smack away. She sometimes forgot to call him out on his nicknames for her, and he, of course, always failed to mention it. Most fortunately of all, she had started calling him Gar (besides the moments when he acted like an idiot or got in trouble). The first time, it had shocked him to the core, but he avoided mentioning it in fear that she’d stop. Every time she uttered his name, it managed to provoke a heap of butterflies inside his stomach.

For Garfield, life was perfect.

On the contrary, though she didn’t outwardly show it, Raven was seemingly falling apart on the inside.

Things at home were growing increasingly complicated for her. Malchior had left after his two week time period had expired. And though she was glad that he was finally back in Europe, Trenton was starting to become a more difficult strain on her. His underground business wasn’t going so smoothly. Several of his operations had fallen apart after undercover cops had infiltrated his lower ranks. It was proving to be more difficult to hide his true identity. Despite being mostly disguised behind his alter ego as Trigon, the risk of discovery was greater than ever. For Raven, it meant bad news. A single and meaningless comment could earn her a beating, and though she had a pretty good pain tolerance, bruising was becoming harder and harder to hide, especially as the weather was beginning to warm up. The only good news of the matter was that after the convincing lie she’d managed to fool Garfield with, he was no longer prying into her matters at home. For all he knew, she was only secretive about her home life because of her status as Trenton’s daughter.

The other complication involved her friends—as she dared to call them. She was becoming increasingly more reliant on them, often going out during the weekends to evade her father. However, what worried her most was her emotional reliance on them. She was becoming too close, especially to Garfield. She found herself enjoying their company, and sometimes, a sort of warm sensation developed inside her stomach and enveloped her whole body (often involving _him_ ).

It felt nice. It felt safe. It worried her to no end. She couldn’t grow so attached to them. God forbid if her father found out about her attachment. He could use them as a tool to threaten her, and Raven didn’t want to put them in any danger.

For Raven, life seemed to be closing in on her.

“Dick, I have been wondering,” Kory questioned randomly during one of their lunch periods and otherwise snapped Raven out of her worrisome thoughts. “How do you get Dick from Richard?”

Before Dick could even open his mouth to answer, Garfield intervened. “You ask nicely!” he joked before letting out a hearty chuckle. Victor snorted, though he pretended he didn’t hear once Dick directed his glare towards the both of them.

“I am sorry, Gar, but I am not understanding,” Kory furrowed her eyebrows. “Did Richard’s parents ask the doctors nicely before they could name him?”

At that, Victor and Garfield burst out laughing, nearly falling out of their seats. Dick’s face was crimson, his mouth gaped open as he wasn’t sure how to answer her.

“It was one of Garfield’s immature and crass jokes, Kory,” Raven explained.

Kory still appeared confused, however, “I am not understanding the punchline of the joke. Could you please explain?”

“I’m sure Dick will help you find out what I mean _very soon_ , Kory,” Garfield sent her a playful wink.

Kory stared at him with confused eyes. Dick finally managed to speak, “Just ignore him, Kor. He loves being a child sometimes,” he sent a piercing glare towards Garfield, who was smiling mischievously.

“Oh, but will you please help me find out as Garfield said?” Kory posed with puppy-like eyes. Victor and Garfield both managed to contain their snickering this time.

Dick’s face turned impossibly red at the innuendo, “Uh… I’m sure we can find out later, Kor... Not right now.”

“Glorious!” Kory cheered. She turned back to her plate and took a bite of her mustard-covered sandwich (Garfield was still unsure of how she could swallow something as disgusting as that).

The rest of lunch went by smoothly, and as they were headed out towards Pre-Calculus, Garfield caught up with Raven.

“Hey, Rae!” he grinned. “I have a question for you.”

“What do you want now, Gar?” Raven stopped by their classroom and crossed her arms, staring at him expectantly.

“Well…” he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “I was planning on going to the community library today after school,” Raven raised both eyebrows in surprise. “And I was wondering if you could come with.”

“Since when do _you_ go to the library?” Raven posed suspiciously.

Garfield chuckled, “I’m not as much of a dork as you consider me to be…”

“That’s arguable.”

“... And I need to get some books on marine wildlife for my English project. Our library doesn’t have the specific kind that I need though,” he replied.

“Have you checked the online catalog?” she questioned.

“The what now?” he furrowed his eyebrows.

“The online catalog,” Raven reiterated. When he still stared at her like she had two heads, she sighed. Of course, he wouldn’t know about that. “Every school has an online catalog you can visit on the website to borrow books from other schools. Our school is no exception to the rule. You can probably find something there,” she turned on her heel to head inside, but Garfield quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

“But I need the book today, Rae!” Garfield insisted.

“Okay, first of all, let go of my hand. Your palms are sweaty,” she frowned, and he let her go, his cheeks slightly flushed at her comment. “Second, the book won’t take long to arrive. The most would be a week.”

“But my project’s due tomorrow!” he blurted out.

Raven rolled her eyes, “Of course you’d wait ‘till the last minute…” she muttered. “Why can’t you just go alone?”

“Uh, because I’ve never been inside a library besides our school one,” he uttered like it was obvious. “Besides, you’re kind of the expert at it, aren’t you?”

Raven huffed. She massaged the bridge of her nose gently to soothe the headache he always seemed to cause her. “Fine,” she muttered. “How about we flip a coin on it?”

“Okay, if I win, you go with me?” he asked, his bright green eyes shining with hope. Why was he so insistent on it?

“Sure, whatever,” she murmured. “Heads,” she said before flipping a quarter that she acquired from her pocket in the air.

Before she could care to grab it, however, Garfield snatched it from the air and grinned cockily at her. “Guess I win,” he told her.

Raven gaped at him, her face twisting in a mix between aggravation and confusion, “What?”

“You went for heads, which defaulted me to tails. Considering the fact that neither you won nor I lost since I caught the coin before we could look at it, I’m the default winner,” he proudly asserted.

Raven blinked. “Gar, that makes no sense whatsoever,” she stated.

“I’m not going to force you, but I will be waiting for you in the parking lot after school,” he sent her his signature goofy grin.

He didn’t leave immediately, however. He stood there looking at her with an odd expression. Raven was about to ask what was so interesting about her face when he reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. His hand grazed her cheek as he took it back, and his smile widened. “Sorry, it bothers me sometimes,” he uttered before heading inside the classroom (mostly to make sure there was witnesses in case she tried to murder him for pulling a move like that) and leaving Raven standing at the door staring off into the distance like an idiot. What the hell was that?

Before she could even think about overthinking it, the bell rung, signifying that she was late to class unsurprisingly because of him. She let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding in and headed inside to her seat. 

* * *

Garfield felt like his intestines were twisting and tangling inside his stomach as he waited. He was leaning against the wall outside the school by the parking lot watching the door intently hoping that she’d come out. Alright, so perhaps he’d been a little commanding with her, but to his defense, she was coming up with so many excuses to avoid going with him, so he had been forced to improvise and trick her into going.

He hadn’t been completely forceful though. He had technically given her a way out. Here’s to hoping she didn’t take it, however.

“Gar,” her raspy voice sounded like music to his ears.

He turned around with a smile that could rival the Chesire cat’s. “Rae! You came!” he brought her into a side hug.

“I can still walk away, you realize that,” she grumbled as she pushed him back. She sighed and crossed her arms, “Well? Are we going to stand here all day?”

“Oh, no, of course not!” Garfield perked up. He grasped her wrist and pulled her towards his car. He opened the passenger door for her like the gentleman he was. Raven only rolled her eyes at him and jumped inside. Then he went around and got into the driver’s seat himself. “Alright, ladies and gentlemen,” he imitated a pilot’s voice. “We’re all buckled up and ready for take-off. Library, here we come!” he announced loudly, only earning a glare from Raven.

“God, you’re insufferable,” she muttered under her breath.

“Aw, come on Rae. You know you love me,” he teased as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“In your dreams,” she retorted, her gaze directed out the window.

As he came to a red light, Garfield swiped through the radio channels in search of a decent song to play. _“So tell me what you want, what you really, really-” “-are the champions, my friends-” “Mama, just killed a man, put a gun against-” “Hit me baby-” “And I wish you joy and happiness-”_

His grin turned impossibly wide, and he glanced at Raven who’s features twisted into a horrified expression.

_“But above all this, I wish you love…”_

There was a pregnant pause in which Garfield inhaled a deep breath, and Raven’s hearing readied itself for purgatory. The feeling of apprehension that arose in her stomach as Garfield opened his mouth was inevitable, and she braced herself for impact. _Three, two, one…_

_“Aaand IIIIIIIIIeeIII will always looovee yoouuuu!!!”_ he sang, his hands making dramatic motions as he directed his gaze at Raven with playful eyes and his voice resonating throughout the vehicle and probably startling the old lady in the car next to them.

_“I will aalways love youu-I will always loove youu-I will aaaalways love youuuuuuuuuu!”_ he continued, his voice blaring into Raven’s ears and practically making them bleed.

The light turned green and he drove forward, though much to Raven’s dismay, he didn’t stop serenading her. His voice sounded worse than a dying cow who was also giving birth to twins at the same time while being brutally murdered by Michael Myers with a chainsaw.

When the chorus finally ceased and Raven was convinced her ears were no longer functional, she directed him a glare, “Are you done?”

“Yup,” he let out, making sure to pop the ‘p’ to irritate her further. “Did you enjoy my performance?”

“I was seriously considering jumping out of the car,” she deadpanned.

“Aw, come on Rae, I wasn’t that bad,” he grinned like an idiot. He gripped the steering wheel with his left hand and reached out to place his right hand over hers. When his palm made contact with the top of her hand, she tensed up, and he instantly regretted his actions. He hurriedly removed his hand and placed it back on the steering wheel. “Sorry, sorry. I got carried away…” he murmured, his face crimson and his tone skittish.

“Don’t worry about it,” she simply murmured and moved her hand away from the armrest. The awkward silence was filled by Michael Jackson’s _Beat It_ coming through the radio.

When they finally got to the library, they exited the car in silence and headed inside. Raven took a few moments to ask the librarian at the front desk about the book section on marine wildlife while Garfield awkward shifted his feet impatiently, his eyes exploring the quiet atmosphere. The community library was a building of tremendous size with three floors all full to the brim with countless bookshelves on anything and everything. There were only a handful of people sitting on the couches and tables either reading or typing away on their laptops. Garfield imagined that they were either working, playing MMORPG games, or writing fanfiction on online forums.

“Gar,” Raven’s voice snapped him out of his trance. He turned to look at her with a bemused expression. “Your books are this way,” she signaled towards an empty area in the back.

“Oh! My books! Right...” he chuckled and awkwardly shuffled his feet to follow her.

He spent a few minutes swiping through the shelves cluelessly searching for something convincing. Truth was, he didn’t really have a project on marine wildlife. Well, he did, but he had already finished it. He’d only come up with the excuse to spend some alone time with Raven and maybe even trick her into having a drink with him or something. So far, his plan was coming together quite nicely, and he only needed to take a few more steps until their outing was practically a date.

He found a convincing encyclopedia on Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises and quickly snatched it from the shelf. He headed towards Raven who was sitting on one of the couches reading a book that he had no idea where she’d gotten from (though the myriad of bookshelves around them was probably a helpful hint to the mystery).

“Found it,” he declared as he stepped by her, raising the book so she could glance at the cover.

Raven closed her book and stood up. “Do you have your library card?” she asked.

“My what now?” he furrowed his eyebrows.

She arched an eyebrow at him, “Your library card. The one you use to check out books.”

“Oh…” Garfield chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. “My library card.”

Raven sighed and massaged the bridge of her nose gently, as she usually did with him, “You don’t have a library card, do you?”

“Nope…” he confessed with a red face.

“Fine, I’ll just check it out under my account,” she muttered as she snatched the book from his hand. She speed-walked towards the counter, and Garfield struggled to keep up with her. “Grant it if you lose it, you’ll be in charge of paying for it.”

Once the encyclopedia, along with some others books he had no idea where she’d managed to snatch so quickly from, were all checked out, they exited the library. They ambled back to Garfield’s car, and once inside, he set about initiating phase two of the plan.

“So, it’s about time for dinner… Rita and Steve are probably already eating without me,” he started as he switched on the ignition. “You want to just head out to eat at a cafe or something?” he asked, making sure to keep his voice smooth.

Raven stayed quiet as he pulled out of the parking lot. He was about to take back his offer when she uttered the word that made him want to scream out in bliss, “Fine.”

Garfield kept it in, however, as to not scare her away. “Awesome,” he grinned, acting as if he was expecting her to agree.

They both decided on a small, quiet cafe on the east side of town, only a few miles from his house. Garfield made sure to hold the door open for her as they walked in, which only generated an odd stare from her part. They sat at a comfortably silent booth at the back next to the music machine.

“Hi, there!” the perky blonde waitress greeted them with a cheerful smile. “I’m Stephanie. Anything you’d like, I’m here for, just call me over. What would you like to drink?”

“Strawberry lemonade for me!” Garfield exclaimed with a toothy grin. Sure, it wasn’t the manliest drink, but he really _loved_ strawberry lemonade.

“And for your lady friend?” she asked as she turned to Raven.

“Herbal tea,” she stated.

“Alright, strawberry lemonade and a herbal tea coming right up! Feel free to look at the menu and choose what you’d like to eat while I go fetch your drinks!” she told them before scurrying away.

After deciding on his order, Garfield tapped his fingers impatiently on the table, unsure of what to say. “So…” he started.

“Yes?” Raven arched an eyebrow, her eyes lifting up from the menu.

“How’s everything at home?” he asked as he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Alright,” Raven assured. “What about you?”

“Ah, well, I think it’s okay so far,” Garfield shrugged. “Rita and I have been spending a lot of time together. Then there’s Steve. He’s still acting as stern as usual, but he’s acting like less of a jerk.”

“That’s fortunate,” she nodded.

Garfield opened his mouth to say something else, but the blonde waitress seemingly popped into existence next to them. “One strawberry lemonade and herbal tea for the happy couple!” she squealed.

His face heat up, and he glanced at Raven who appeared to be unaffected by the comment. She simply grabbed her herbal tea and gently blew on it.

“What would you like to order?” she asked.

“A tofu delight, please.”

“A small potato salad will suffice.”

“Alright, I’ll be right back with your orders!”

Garfield took a sip of his lemonade before glancing at Raven. Her eyes were fixated on the teacup in front of her. “A salad, really?” he commented. “You should really eat more, y’know.”

Raven gazed at him with emotionless eyes. “I believe my eating habits are perfectly fine as they are.”

“But you barely eat at lunch! I only see you eating fruit or maybe taking teensy bites of your food. That can’t be healthy, Rae!” he insisted. “You should eat more.”

She rolled her eyes at him, “You rarely see me eating outside of school.”

“Exactly! Even when we go out, you don’t eat too much!” he retaliated.

“My eating habits should be none of your concerns,” she narrowed her eyes. “Why do you care so much?”

“Because!” he exclaimed, though he wasn’t sure what to say after that. “You’re my friend!” he blurted out. “Of course I’d care. I’ll always care about you, Rae,” he smirked.

“Well, you shouldn’t rely on that thought so much. You don’t even know if we’ll remain friends after high school,” she muttered, her finger tracing the hem of her cup.

The waitress returned with their orders and said something like “enjoy,” but Garfield wasn’t really listening. His mind was too fixated on her words, “What do you mean we won’t remain friends? I’d never stop being your friend,” he proclaimed, slightly offended at the thought of it.

“You can’t assure the future, Gar,” Raven replied before taking a sip of her tea. “Just as you can’t change the past.”

“Well, I’m sure we’ll still be friends!” Garfield grinned. He dug into his plate eagerly, his appetite suddenly refurbished. “You’re too important to me,” he assured her.

His words would’ve been incredibly sweet if it wasn’t for the fact that he said them with a mouth full of tofu. “Right,” she murmured. She took a bite of her salad, her thoughts swirling about contemplating his assertion. Would they really remain friends? A twinge of hope emerged at the back of her head, but she quickly pushed it away. _No._ Even if she wanted to, she would just prove to be a burden to him. He’d move away into a small college, earn his degree, work his dream job, and get married to a wonderful girl. Meanwhile, she’d be stuck here, tied to Malchior’s marriage arrangement and her father’s nefarious operations.

They chatted a bit more about ephemeral topics with Garfield attempting to encourage her to share more but to no avail. After they finished their food, Raven reluctantly let him pay for the bill, and they headed out, making sure to leave a substantial tip to the perky waitress.

“So, it’s pretty late. I think it’d be best if I took you home, no?” Garfield proposed as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“That won’t be necessary. You can drop me off at the bus station by Danny Street. I can walk from there,” she assured him.

“Raven…” Garfield began. “I don’t think you should be walking alone out so late. You’re already in my car. I might as well give you a ride to your house.”

“Garfield, I’ll be fine,” Raven rolled her eyes, her tone a bit frustrated with him.

“Raven, I’m not going to drop you off at a bus station so you can walk home alone…” he frowned at her.

“God, I don’t know why you keep insisting with your whole act of chivalry,” she muttered while massaging her temple.

“It’s not an act of chivalry,” it was his turn to roll his eyes. “It’s called being a decent human being and _friend_.”

“Right…” she crossed her arms.

Garfield sighed, “Look, Rae. I just want you to get home safely. Are you worried that me knowing your address will mean that I’ll tell everyone at school who your dad is and where you live? You know me well enough to realize I’m not that kind of guy.”

“I know,” she replied. “And I have a feeling I’m not going to win this fight, so you might as well drive me…”

Garfield grinned, feeling his ego inflate at his success in the argument, “Just tell me where to go.”

Raven guided him through the city streets until they arrived at an extremely affluent neighborhood with houses that appeared to look more like castles. Though Garfield was pretty well-off himself, he was nowhere near as rich as these people.

“It’s the house of the end of the street,” she muttered.

Just when Garfield believed he couldn’t be more shocked, he spotted her house. It was a building of tremendous size with a concrete wall surrounding it. It practically towered over the other houses on the block.

“ _This_ is your house!?” his jaw dropped.

Raven sighed, unsurprised by his response, “Yes.”

Then, in an abrupt moment, her expression seemed to shift from irritation to confusion to terror. “Pull back,” she commanded.

“What, why!?”

“Just pull back!”

Garfield glanced at the front and noticed the gate opening in front of them. He spotted a figure walking towards them, and he couldn’t discern the individual until he spotted his pale blonde hair. “Is that Malchior?” he asked.

Raven breathed out, aggravated that he couldn’t just listen to her directions. “It appears to be,” she gritted her teeth, feeling her blood boil inside her veins. What was _he_ doing _here_?

Malchior approached the car, his hands inside his pant’s pockets and his men following behind like knights guarding the king.

“I got this, just get out of here,” Raven muttered as she reached for the door handle.

Garfield locked the doors before she could open it, however. “I thought you said he’d gone back to Europe a few months ago?” he stated, his tone rather suspicious.

“He had…” she muttered. “Now open the door,” she regarded him with a piercing glare.

“No,” he simply told her.

Raven’s eyes widened, unbelievable of the fact that he had just negated her. Malchior approached the driver’s seat, and Garfield lowered the window.

He observed Garfield with a raised eyebrow, and his eyes took a second to trace Raven’s profile. “Garfield, was it?” he asked him, his tone rather sharp.

“Yeah,” Garfield replied. “Malchior?”

“That is correct,” Malchior glanced at Raven, and his eyes told her everything she needed to know. He was not pleased with her, not that Garfield could see that. “Oh forgive me. I don’t know where my manners have gone. Why don’t you come inside?”

“No!” Raven abruptly blurted out.

Garfield glanced at her with surprised eyes. Why did she suddenly look so… panicked? Raven rarely, if ever, panicked, which had to mean something was wrong. _Very wrong_ . He looked back at Malchior, and for some reason, a feeling in his gut told him not to trust the dude. Despite his instincts calling for him to take flight, he didn’t really feel comfortable leaving Raven there. He could at least walk her inside and make sure everything looked alright. It was also his chance to find out more about her because even after months of knowing her, he found that he didn’t really _know_ her. He grinned at him, “Why not?”

Malchior smirked. He locked eyes with Raven—those cold, soulless blue eyes. There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in his response to Garfield, and he didn’t unlock his gaze from Raven’s.

“Excellent. I think Trenton would be pleased to meet one of his daughter’s dear friends.”


	4. Four

**Truths**

“I believe Garfield told me he had to check in with his mother soon or else she’d be worried,” Raven asserted as they walked alongside each other towards the door. She sent Garfield a glare, “Didn’t you, Garfield?”

He knew what she was playing at. She was trying to prevent him from finding out more about her, but now that he was so close to potentially figuring her out, he wasn’t about to give up that chance.

“I can actually text Rita right now and tell her I’m at your place,” he grinned as he took out his phone from his pocket and typed up a quick text.

Raven scowled and clenched her fists, “Great,” she muttered. “But don’t you think it’s a little late?”

“Raven, I’m starting to believe you don’t want Garfield to come in,” Malchior intervened. “It’s almost like you’re scared he’ll find out something you haven’t disclosed. Is that it?”

Raven gritted her teeth, “Don’t be ludicrous, Malchior. Garfield can come if he likes. I was just worried about his mother’s well-being,” she glanced at Gar, hoping he’d get the hint.

Garfield, as predicted, was completely oblivious to her pointers, and he simply chuckled, “Rita will be fine. Don’t worry about her, Rae.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, your mother’s name is Rita… Could that possibly be Rita Dayton? Wife of Steve Dayton, the CEO of Dayton Industries? Famous actress during the 90s?” Malchior questioned.

“Yeah! How did you know?” Garfield raised an eyebrow.

Malchior gazed at Raven, who narrowed her eyes at him, “Just a hunch.” The statement didn’t seem to be directed towards Garfield, not that he noticed.

One of the guards opened the front door for them and let them in. Malchior made sure to stand close to Raven, his hand ever-so-lightly grazing her arm to assume his dominant position over her.

“Malchior, Raven,” Trenton exited the living room. His eyes landed on Garfield. “Who is this?”

Before Raven could reply, Malchior spoke up, “This is Garfield. One of Raven’s classmates and _friends_.”

“Friends?” Trenton approached them. “I’ve never heard Raven speak about any friends of hers.”

Garfield politely smiled and offered a hand which Trenton shook. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. My family and I absolutely love your company. We enjoy a lot of the productions that came from it.”

Trenton raised both eyebrows and glanced at Raven, who was standing between Garfield and Malchior scanning her father with blank eyes, “I see my daughter has told you about her family. That must mean she really trusts you.”

Garfield grinned and nudged Raven’s shoulder, “I would hope so. I consider Rae one of my closest friends.”

Raven didn’t look at him. She kept her eyes locked with her fathers, “We’re not _that_ close,” she replied, though it wasn’t directed to Garfield. The words were a bit harsh, but Garfield wasn’t exactly making the case easy for her to defend. She was certain that her father was already planning all sorts of blackmail for her, and the fact that Malchior knew Garfield’s family didn’t make things any better.

Garfield chuckled, though it didn’t sound so amused, “Don’t be so modest Rae. I know you think of me as your best friend,” he teased while lightly pushing against her arm.

God, he was not making this easy.

“I see,” Trenton muttered. “Why don’t we head into the living room and talk there? It’s the first time Raven’s brought a friend, and I would really like to know the kind of influence Raven has in her high school. She’s not very fond of sharing details.”

Garfield nodded and followed Trenton into the living room. Raven was about to step inside when Malchior caught her wrist and pulled her back.

“What do you want?” she snarled.

“Now, now, Raven, you have to behave,” Malchior scolded, a nefarious grin plastered on his expression. “One of your dearest friends is here. We wouldn’t want him to get into any trouble, would we?”

“Garfield’s in no trouble,” Raven glanced inside the living room, where Garfield was sitting back on one of the couches striking up an animated conversation with her father, who was an exceptionally good actor. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“It seems you care a lot about your friend,” Malchior noted. He clutched her hand and plastered a light kiss on it. “If only you’d care the same about your fiance.” He glanced at her hand, “I’m a bit offended that you don’t bother wearing our engagement ring, dear.” Then, like the asshole he was, he reached into her pocket and took out the ring, gently slipping it into her finger. “That’s better.”

Raven glared daggers at him before snatching her hand from his grasp and heading into the living room.

“Rae’s a great friend. She’s crazy smart, and she always helps me with homework,” Garfield was explaining to Trenton when she walked in. “I honestly don’t know what I’d do without her.”

“You seem to have very high thoughts of my daughter,” Trenton smirked.

“Of course I do!” Garfield exclaimed. “I think we’ve grown really close over the last few months. We’re definitely really different, but we get along well.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Trenton stated. He directed his eyesight towards Malchior and Raven. “It’s a pleasure having you here, Garfield. You should come more often. As I said before, Raven doesn’t bring many friends along, even though I constantly insist on it. I’d really like to be more involved in my daughter’s life even if she doesn’t want my attention.” Then, he looked back at Garfield, and Raven’s stomach fell when she noticed his wicked expression. “In fact, why don’t I invite you to the wedding this fall?”

“Wedding?” Garfield furrowed his eyebrows. “Sorry, sir, I wasn’t aware of any weddings. I didn’t realize you were engaged.”

Trenton let out a chilling laugh, “It’s not me who’s engaged. On the contrary, my daughter and Malchior here are set to be married by December this year.”

Garfield felt a wave of nausea overwhelm his stomach, and he gulped down a sensation of dread, “Sorry, what was that?”

Trenton pretended to act puzzled, and Raven’s glare was practically cutting through him. “Did Raven not inform you?” he turned to her. “I would’ve thought she would’ve told her closest friends the important news. Malchior and Raven have been together for the past few years, after all.”

Garfield’s eyes locked with Raven’s, and as usual, he was unable to read her expression. His eyes traced down and caught the sight of the ring on her finger. Raven could tell exactly what he was feeling—hurt. Unadulterated hurt. Why he was emitting such an intense emotion? She wasn’t sure, but she didn’t like it. And currently, she was unable to explain herself. It seemed like her convincing lie all those months ago was falling apart with the pull of a single thread, by her father nonetheless.

“You have?” Garfield’s voice was small. Then, as if he raised a sudden shield, he grinned, though Raven could see right through it. “That’s great news! I’ll definitely like to attend the wedding! I’m sure all of our friends would too… If Raven wants to invite them, of course.”

“Well, they’re all invited too. I would love to meet them, as well,” Trenton added.

“If you don’t mind me asking, where’s your restroom?” Garfield asked, his tone holding the slightest tremble.

“I can send one of the servants with you,” Malchior abruptly added. “Maria,” he turned towards a young woman dusting the furniture behind him. “Would you care to show Garfield where the bathroom is located?”

Garfield got up and followed her to the restroom, his eyes purposefully avoiding Raven’s. Once Garfield was out of the room, Raven approached Malchior with an intent glare, “What the hell are you playing at?”

“He’s not playing at anything Raven,” Trenton commented. “In fact, as I’m aware, you seem to be the one forming intimate relationships at school.”

“They’re not intimate,” Raven spat. “They’re acquaintances.”

“By the way Garfield was speaking of you, it didn’t seem he thought so,” Malchior added.

Raven snarled at him before storming towards the door. “Raven,” her father called. She froze in her spot, but she didn’t direct him a glance. “I’ve warned you before. If you don’t follow through with our plans, your little friends could be in certain dangers. And considering I know the most about him, Garfield would be the first one in jeopardy.”

She gritted her teeth but otherwise didn’t say anything. She walked out of the living room and past Maria as she exited, with only one goal in mind. Raven knocked on the bathroom door, “Gar?”

There was fumbling inside before it opened, and an oddly serious-looking Garfield stared back at her, “What do you need, Raven?”

“We need to talk,” Raven muttered before leading him towards one of the sitting rooms in the hallway. He hesitantly followed her.

“About what, Rae?” Garfield grumbled. “I think your father said enough back there.”

“I don’t understand why you’re so angry,” she muttered as she closed the door and turned on her heel. “You’re the one intruding into my home and family life. I tried to give you an out, but you were so insistent on coming in.”

“What? You didn’t want me to find out about your engagement?” Garfield barked, his fists clenched and his eyes adopting a new kind of fire she hadn’t yet noticed from him.

Raven crossed her arms and kept a straight face, “You had no right to intrude into my place.”

“I thought you said Malchior was a dick? That you wouldn’t even think about marrying him?” he continued.

Raven sighed and pressed a finger to her temple, “My decisions are none of your concern.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Garfield spat. “What? Are you going back to your ice queen act? To the whole I-don’t-care-about-what-you-think role? Because guess what, Rae? It doesn’t fit you,” Garfield let out a cold snicker. “You know? I realize now that all you ever wanted was attention. You just love it when guys swoon over you, don’t you?”

“I didn’t fucking ask for this, Garfield!” Raven exclaimed, her patience expiring. “I don’t understand why the hell you’re so upset about it!”

“Because I liked you, Rae!” He abruptly confessed. There was a pregnant pause between them. No sound. Just their intense staring. “I liked you,” he spoke quietly as he stepped closer to her. “Why do you think I insisted on you going to the library with me? Or the fact that I tricked you into practically going on a date with me? How I’m always finding excuses to put my arm around you or just touch you no matter how many times you snap at me. How I’m constantly telling you jokes or funny stories in hopes that you smile or laugh. How I’m always the one insisting that you join us when we go out…” he grasped her hands—his touch a hundred times gentler than Malchior’s. “I fell for you Rae. Real badly…” His eyes searched her own intently before tracing down to the outline of her lips. “And don’t deny that you don’t share even a bit of my feelings for you…”

Raven didn’t say anything. She simply held her breath. His face was so close she could practically feel the moisture of his breath on her skin. “Because, otherwise, why would you have accepted my invitation to go out...” their noses were touching now and his tone was extremely low and somewhat husky. “Or to eat dinner…” His lips faintly grazed her own. “Or why wouldn’t you be backing away from me now?” he whispered a second before he captured her lips with his own.

For a moment, sparks flew, and it felt like the world burned over, yet they didn’t care. Garfield clutched the sides of her waist, and Raven slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him closer to her. She hadn’t ever experienced such a level of physical and emotional intimacy with someone. Sure, she had had plenty of make-out sessions with Malchior but none had ever been this intense despite the fact that it was a simple kiss. Yet, to both of them, it was a gesture long-overdue. One with an emotion that had been piling up ever since the first day they locked eyes. It was both heaven and hell—kissing him. Despite the fact that electric tingles were spreading throughout her body, there was a deafening screech at the back of her head, attempting to pull her back from his embrace. Because though it felt so perfect, it felt so wrong at the same time.

It didn’t seem to work, and Garfield deepened the kiss, his tongue trailing the outline of her lips before slipping inside, exploring the caverns of her mouth. But before they could go any further, Raven snapped into her senses, and she jerked away from him, her lips abruptly pulling away from his. Garfield felt himself pout, and he lightly grazed his lips with his fingers, already longing for her lips. She turned away, her eyes shut tightly and her hands trembling, attempting to get ahold of her emotions.

“So, I guess that confirms it,” Garfield chuckled, his voice suddenly losing all of its hostility.

Raven took a few deep breaths before finally glancing back at him. “This isn’t possible, Gar,” she stated, her tone cold and assertive.

Garfield furrowed his eyebrows, “What do you mean..? Isn’t it clear enough that we like each other? You can’t keep denying it forever, Rae.”

“I won’t deny it,” she told him. “But it can’t happen.”

Garfield gaped at her as if she’d just kicked a puppy, “Why not?”

“Gar…” she sighed before crossing her arms, a sign that she was closing herself off (Garfield had been learning how to read her for the past few months). “I’m engaged to Malchior. Our marriage has already been arranged.”

“But… Can’t you back out? You don’t really love him?” he watched her with wide and alarmed eyes. “Do you?”

“No, but I don’t have a say in the matter,” Raven explained. “It’s something I can’t quite explain to you fully, but it has to do with me taking over my father’s company in the future.”

“But… But,” he stuttered. “We can run away together! Move to a place where he can’t find you, either of them. Start a life together, study for our degrees in a college together, travel the world, find lowkey jobs we enjoy that won’t drag too much attention. It might not be the expensive lifestyle you’re used to, but we can make it work!”

Raven sighed and shook her head, “Gar… You’ve always been an idealist, a dreamer. And I admire that about you. You don’t give in to pessimism, and you do anything it takes to get what you want, whether it’s realistic or not. I’m much the opposite. I don’t believe in faith or idealistic ideas like the ones you always seem to come up with. That’s exactly why we’re not compatible with each other. And one way or another, we’re going to end up hurt. Both of us. Not to mention escaping from my father’s grasp is difficult. He’d find me within days.”

“We can try! Or I can try to convince him I’m a good guy,” Garfield insisted. “That Malchior is no good for you, that-”

“Gar,” she interrupted, her voice stern. “You have to let it go. I can’t run away from my destiny. I’m stuck here, and there’s nothing I can do about it. If you stay with me, or if you try to defy my father, you’d just be wasting your time. I’d just keep you from achieving your dreams, getting your degree, meeting a woman you love and having kids.”

“But…” Garfield’s murmured, his voice barely audible. “What if you are _her_?"

Raven let out a humorless chuckle, and Garfield would’ve thought he’d be happier about hearing her laugh yet right now it only seemed to drill a trench deeper into his heart, “Gar, I’m not her. You’re blowing things out of proportion. I’m just a simple crush.”

Garfield was suddenly overrun by uncontrollable rage, and he glared daggers at her, “Don’t you dare tell me what I feel about you,” he growled as he took a step forwards. “I know what it is, and it’s _not_ just a crush.”

“Even if it isn’t just a crush to you Garfield, how do you know it isn't that for me?” she pointed out, and Garfield visibly deflated. “Gar, you're a great guy, and I'll admit that I do feel some type of attraction to you, but the sad truth is that we're simply not compatible enough to last. All these ideas you've been making in your head, they're fake. They're all just a product of your idealistic imagination. They're not going to happen, whether we like it or not. I'm sorry Gar, but I can't give you what you want, what you deserve.”

Garfield's gaze hit the ground and his blonde locks obstructed her view of his eyes, so she couldn't tell if he was crying or trembling in anger. “So that's it? You're just going to push me away, Rae? Like you always do?” he spat.

Raven knew the words she would utter next would inevitably break his heart. But it was the only way to finally end the conversation. To break away from that dangerous bond they had formed. To go back to her days alone, when the only person in danger had been her. It was the only way, and though she could feel the knot forming inside her throat, dangerously close to inducing tears, she managed to keep her voice steady, “We were never that close to begin with.”

If Garfield had looked at her like she’d kicked a puppy before, he was now staring at her like she’d murdered his whole family. His mouth opened, but he found that it was too dry to speak. Instead, he turned on his heel and exited the room, slamming the door behind him. He rushed down the hallway towards the main door.

“Oh, Garfield, there you are. Have you perhaps seen Raven?” Malchior questioned as he passed him.

“She’s back there,” he pointed at the hallway, but he didn’t make eye contact. He simply darted towards the front door. “Are you leaving now?”

“Yeah,” Garfield informed him. “Tell Mr. Roth I had an emergency, so I couldn’t say goodbye. Also, thank him for me,” he told him before rushing out without waiting for a reply.

He drove home, his hands gripping the steering wheel as if it would somehow sprout wings and fly away. His eyes were momentarily distracted by a raven almost crashing into his front window, and he had to stop at the side of the street to calm down.

When he got home, Rita greeted him cheerfully, excited to hear the news. However, when she saw his face, she rapidly took him into her arms and embraced him tightly. And he cried for what seemed like hours. Even Tara’s betrayals hadn’t brought about as many tears as Raven’s rejection did.

And that’s when he realized just how hard he’d fallen for her.

Meanwhile, Raven still sat frozen on the sofa in the same room she’d just had her argument with Garfield, her eyes decidedly fixated on the empty wall in front of her. There was no tears, no anger, nothing. Only numbness overwhelmed her body, and even when Malchior walked in, she didn’t direct him a glare.

“I found you,” Malchior closed the door behind him. “What’s wrong, my dear?” he feigned an expression of concern as he sat next to her and grasped her hand. His palm traveled up the sides of her wrist, but instead of soothing her, it only induced uncomfortable chills down her spine. His touch felt repulsive, so different from Garfield’s.

Raven didn’t answer him and instead tried to take back her hand, but Malchior kept a tight grip around her wrist, and spasms of pain erupted across her skin from her previous bruising. He didn’t seem to care that she wasn’t listening, and he instead focused on grazing his lips across the skin of her neck. His hands coarsely roamed across her body, every touch making her feel like a vile chunk of rotten meat.

And even as he unclothed her, all she felt was dire numbness.

* * *

 

**Broken**

“Dude, what’s up with you today?” Victor finally asked during their last period of the day.

“What do you mean?” Garfield looked up from his paper, one hand clutching his forehead and the other laid on the desk.

Victor gawked at him. “Have you not seen yourself today?”

“... Did I do something wrong?” he muttered, his voice lower than usual. It was as if all the life had been sucked out of him.

Victor sighed, “You got here late this morning and didn’t even come up with a snarky excuse for it. You stared out the window for most of the period. You barely even acknowledged me the whole time! Kory asked me about you during passing periods because, and I quote, “You no longer ooze the delightful aura you used to.” Then, during lunch, you barely even joined the conversation! Not to mention, you didn’t even voice the fact that Raven didn’t show up. You didn’t ask about her. You didn’t talk about her. It’s like you didn’t even care! I’m worried here, Gar. Please talk to me. Did something happen? Is it something about your health?”

“No, dude. You’re way off.” Garfield shrugged, “I just had a bad night yesterday… And sorry Vic, I don’t feel comfortable talking about it just yet. I’ll tell you, but I need some time to think for myself. It’s personal.”

Victor scrutinized his expression cautiously. Then, he sighed and nodded. “Alright, dude, whatever you want. When you’re ready to talk, I’ll be here,” he sent him a small smile.

* * *

“Do you want to talk about it?” Tara asked him as they calmly rocked on the swing set in their childhood park. The sun was coming down creating a blend of warm colors on the horizon, and there was a gentle breeze that caressed Garfield’s expression and relaxed him.

“About what?” Garfield questioned, feigning nonchalance. But it didn’t work on Tara.

“You don’t fool me, Gar. There’s something up. I want to know what it is,” Tara claimed, her eyes scanning his own.

Garfield sighed and looked down. She had always been excellent at reading him. “I kissed Raven yesterday.”

“Really!?” Tara squealed. She grinned widely and lightly elbowed him, “I thought you said she’d never be interested in you.”

However, when Garfield didn’t react and instead kept his eyes fixated on the ground, Tara furrowed her eyebrows. “Was it that bad of a reaction?”

“She rejected me,” Garfield confessed. “But the thing is, it was weird. She kissed me back, and she even confessed she had feelings for me too, in her own Raven-like way.”

“And then..?”

Garfield’s expression scrunched up as if he were reliving the moment, “Then she told me we weren’t compatible. That I was an idealist and she was a realist. That we would both end up being hurt. That she was already forcefully engaged to a family friend and there was no way to stop it,” Tara frowned at that. “And I kept insisting, trying to give her options. But…” his voice cracked. “When I asked her if she was just going to push me away in a fit of anger, she told me we were never that close to begin with.”

The silence was deafening, and Garfield stared into nothingness, his hands clutching onto the chains of the swingset and his feet burying into the sand below. He could feel Tara’s eyes on him, but she didn’t say anything for a few moments.

“Gar, I don’t really know what to tell you…” she admitted. “But I do find it weird… You said she kissed you back, and that she confessed her feelings. Isn’t it possible to report her family to the police? I’m pretty sure arranged marriages are illegal, and if she really wanted it, wouldn’t she try just a bit harder to stop that marriage?”

Garfield processed her words before replying, “I don’t know, honestly. Raven is used to pushing me away…” his voice trailed off.

“Could it be possible that she told you that to push you away?” Tara suggested.

“Told me what?”

“That you weren’t close. If she knew she’d hurt you that way, then maybe she was hoping you’d give up on pursuing her,” she explained. “I know because it sounds like something I would do.”

“That… Actually sounds a lot like Raven,” he voiced. “But if that’s the case, my efforts to win her over would probably be useless.”

“Gar, I’m going to be straightforward with you. You’ve been caught up on Raven for half a year now. Even when we were dating, you were never this obsessed with me,” Tara told him. “Now you know she shares your feelings, and the only reason you can’t be together is because of family issues. Don’t you think it’s worth insisting after you’ve come this far?”

Garfield reflected on her words, “Yeah… You’re right.”

“I know I am,” Tara snickered. “After all, I’m way smarter than you,” she teased.

* * *

“Hey, Vic, have you seen Raven today?” Garfield caught up with his friend during their passing period.

“Sorry Gar, no clue where she is,” he shrugged as he headed to his next class. “And I thought you were mad at her?” he arched an eyebrow.

Garfield shook his head, “It was something stupid, and I want to apologize for it.”

“Aw man, she better not be in a bad mood because of you,” Victor tsked in disapproval. “I’m going to psychology next, so she should be there. Just wait for lunch, bud.”

Garfield hesitantly nodded and buried his hands inside his pockets sheepishly, “Okay…”

Art class felt like an eternity to Garfield. Their elderly teacher, Mrs. Wright, took up most of the class explaining their last project of the year and retelling random stories from her youth. When it was finally lunchtime, Garfield practically burst out of the classroom doors.

He hurried into the lunchroom, but his face quickly fell when he realized Raven wasn’t at their usual table yet. She was generally the first one there. Maybe he’d gotten there too quickly?

After grabbing his lunch, he walked to the table and waited while impatiently tapping his fingers on the wood. When he heard someone approach him from behind, he turned around expecting to greet Raven with a huge smile. Turns out it was just Dick and Kory. While Dick stared at him with furrowed eyebrows, Kory greeted him with the same delight.

They took a seat across from him, and Dick asked, “What’s up with you today?”

“Just waiting for Raven…” Garfield answered, sighing in disappointment. “Have you guys seen her today?”

Both Kory and Dick shook their heads.

“I don’t think Raven’s here today,” Victor plopped down on the seat next to Garfield. “She wasn’t here for psychology.”

Garfield frowned, “But she wasn’t here on Friday either…” he murmured/

“Perhaps Raven is sick?” Kory tilted her head.

While his friends continued discussing the possibility of Raven’s whereabouts, Garfield's head felt like it was spiraling. Questions and scenarios popping into his head like a tsunami. What if she had left? What if she and her family had moved to another city? What if Malchior had taken her to get married elsewhere? What if…

“Gar!” Victor exclaimed, and Garfield jerked in his seat.

“What?” he looked up with wide eyes.

“You zoned out,” Dick pointed out.

“Sorry,” Garfield replied, his voice lower than usual. “I just… I need to go…” he suddenly jumped from his seat and hurried out of the cafeteria without another word.

He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he needed a place to clear his thoughts. Maybe he could skip class? Or sneak out of the building? Or call Tara?

His mind was bombarded with so many thoughts that he completely missed the person turning the corner and violently crashed into them.

“Sorry, I-” his voice trailed off when his eyes met hers. “Raven…”

Raven intently glared at him and pushed him aside to walk by, but Garfield caught her wrist and pulled her back.

“Gar, let me go. I’m not in the mood,” she muttered.

“I need to talk to you, Rae.” He wasn’t about to let her run away, not again.

“We can talk later, but not right now,” she tried to snatch her hand back but his grip was tight. The aching on her wrist wasn’t helping either.

“Why not? I need to talk to you now,” he insisted.

Raven grimaced, her eyes practically lighting on fire. “I said not now,” she snarled.

“I’m not going to let you push me away anymore,” Garfield frowned.

“Let me go,” she demanded through gritted teeth.

“I’m not going to let you close yourself off,” he insisted.

“God damn it, Garfield! I told you to _let_ _me go_ ,” Raven used her free hand to push him away from her. He stumbled back, his foot getting caught on his other and his body plunging backward. The back of his head crashed into the ground rather harshly. For a moment, his vision blurred, and Raven appeared to split into two images. Then suddenly she was hurrying down the hallway.

He stumbled on his soles and hurried after her, barely managing to keep his balance.

“Hold up, Rae!” he called out, though his feet didn’t seem to cooperate, and he slipped onto his side when he tried to turn the corner.

“OW!” he screeched as he attempted to grip the side of the lockers but only ended up scraping his wrist against the metal corner.

Garfield thought she had already rushed off, but to his surprise, she was on her knees next to him.

“Hold still,” Raven murmured, and his eyes trailed down his arm until they landed on his wrist.

Blood. Lots of blood. Just looking at it made him feel dazed. “I feel woozy,” he managed, his tongue dry and his limbs weakened.

“Don’t look at it. It makes it worse,” she whispered. She helped him to his feet and towards the girl’s restroom.

“Am I going to bleed to death?” he asked, though he was only half-joking.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Raven rolled her eyes. “You’ll just lose a few more brain cells.” She rolled up his sleeve and hastily began to clean up the wound in the sink. She used some bandages from a first aid kit (which he had no idea where she’d acquired from) to wrap around his wrist to stop the bleeding.

“Who knew we had a doctor in the house?” Garfield smiled as he watched her work.

“Shut up,” she only murmured. Then, she slipped the first aid kit into her backpack.

“Can we talk now?” he asked hopefully.

Raven sighed and locked the bathroom door. She went through all of the stalls before finally acknowledging him properly, “Quickly please.”

“Rae, I want to give us a try,” he started.

“Garfield, I already-”

“No, I’m not going to let you push me away. It’s not going to work, no matter how many hurtful things you say,” he interrupted her. “Rae, you already know I _really_ like you. And I know you also like me. I’m aware of your issues at home, but I can help you. I don’t know how useless you think of me to be, but I’m not a complete idiot. If you need me to talk to your dad or-”

“No,” she barked.

Garfield furrowed his eyebrows, “You don’t want me to talk to your dad?”

Raven breathed out, “You won’t understand my situation, Gar.”

“What do you mean? Can you at least tell me and let me decide that?” he begged. “Rae, I know there’s something wrong, and I want to know what it is.”

She turned away and lowered her head, “I can’t. Please stop insisting.”

Garfield approached her carefully. He placed a soothing hand on her shoulder, but she didn’t direct her gaze at him, “Come on Rae, I know we’re at least friends. Even if you might not consider me a close friend.”

Raven didn’t reply, and Garfield lightly turned her to face him. He grazed her palm with his finger before picking it up. Her eyes were still fixated on the ground, and he sighed. He frowned as he inspected the ring on her finger. He couldn’t help but think that he could do so much better. Then, his eyes caught sight of something below her sleeve. He cautiously rolled them up and examined the bruising around her wrists. It was faint, but it wasn’t old. It looked like the bruising he had found on her all those months ago when he had first suspected that she was in trouble. When she had convinced him that she was fine. This wasn’t a few months old. And she wasn’t fine.

“Let me guess, you fell and hit your wrist?” Garfield couldn’t help but let out, his voice tinged with frustration.

She didn’t answer him, and it only made him feel angrier. “Rae, who did this to you?” he asked. Silence. “Answer me, Rae, or I’ll tell someone,” he threatened.

“That’s none of your business,” she growled.

“It is my business!” he retorted. “Someone’s hurting you, and I want to know who it is!”

“No one’s hurting me, Garfield,” she glared daggers at him. “You’re making things up.”

“I know what I-” his voice died out in the midst of his scream, and his hand clutched the side of his face as an abrupt throbbing pain erupted inside his skull. A dizzying sensation enveloped his head, and he couldn’t tell whether the world was spinning or whether it was him spinning.

“Gar?” Raven asked, her voice suddenly tinted with concern. “Are you okay?”

He tried to assure her that he was fine, but all that he managed was a clutter of gibberish. Her hand grasped his, and her sharp indigo eyes pierced into his own. And it was the last thing he saw before the world went dark. 

* * *

When Garfield opened his eyes, his vision was overwhelmed by white light. He could hear a distant echo in the distance as if someone were talking in a cave miles away. The sound was so faint he couldn’t recognize what they were saying. Then, his ears popped and the ringing he hadn’t noticed in the background gradually amplified until it was all that resonated inside his head.

The light shifted into a white blur, and he recognized the wall in front of him. His vision cleared, and he instantly knew where he was. The hospital.

He could see two people conversing from outside the window of his room. The beeping of the machine next to him calmed him, and he managed to take a breath. He tried to say something, but his mouth was incredibly dry. Then, the voices grew closer, and the door opened.

Lucy walked in with Rita not far behind. When his adoptive mother realized his eyes were opened, she let out a blissful cry and dashed towards him. She took his hand and caressed the side of his cheek, “Oh honey, how are you feeling? Are you okay? Is anything hurting? Can you feel all of your body? Can you see? Can you breathe?” she began to bombard him with questions.

“If you keep grasping my hand like that, I probably won’t be able to feel it,” he grinned. His voice sounded dry and raspy, and it hurt a bit to talk.

“Oh honey, I’m so glad you’re okay!” Rita hugged him.

Garfield managed to place a hand on her back and rub gently as if he were the one consoling her.

Lucy smiled from her place in front of the bed, “Glad to see you’re back with us Garfield.”

“... Back?” he questioned, his voice growing clearer.

Rita’s grip loosened, and she retreated. Her eyes were glassy, and she sent him a gloomy smile. “Oh Garfield,” she placed a hand on his cheek and watched him with loving eyes. “You… You almost died.”

Garfield furrowed his eyebrows, his mind not properly processing the information. “What do you mean I almost died..?”

“You had an episode in school,” Lucy explained. “It was probably the worst one yet,” she told him. “Your friend said you hit your head really hard. We determined that was the cause for it. The impact on your skull set off a chain reaction and when your body tried to combat it, it triggered your illness from its dormant state. The ambulance barely managed to get you to the hospital. Your heart stopped, but the doctors brought you back. The unfortunate news is that you slipped into a coma state.”

Garfield breathed in, unsure of how to take the news. He was afraid to ask, but he did anyway. “How long was I at?”

“A week, Garfield,” Rita blurted out. “We were so afraid that… you weren’t going to wake up.”

Garfield felt tears accumulate in his eyelids, and he clutched his mother’s hand, “Is it… Is it contained?”

Lucy frowned, “We’re not sure. The results are inconclusive. Your illness has always been complicated. It’s baffled the doctors. We can’t predict whether it’s returned to its dormant state or whether it’s still active. We’re going to have to keep you here for a few weeks.”

Garfield sighed, but he nodded. He knew he couldn’t refuse. It was for his own good even if he didn’t like it. “Do my friends know?” he asked Rita.

She smiled and nodded, “Tara and Victor have been coming here almost every day to check on you. Your two other friends, Richard and Kory came to visit you twice. The rest of your pack tried to visit you all in the same day, but we had to bring them in one by one since big groups aren’t allowed.”

“Has…” his voice cracked. “Has Raven come?”

Rita sighed, and her gaze hit the ground guiltily. She opened her mouth, but she found that she couldn’t say the words out loud. She shook her head.

“Oh…” he murmured, a flood of disappointment enveloping his stomach.

“She was the one who called the ambulance,” Rita explained. “She rode here with you, but… She hasn’t come back to see you,” she frowned.

Garfield remained silent, and he swallowed the knot inside his throat.

“Don’t worry though,” Rita reassured him. “Maybe when she finds out you woke up, she’ll come to visit you.”

“Maybe…” he whispered. 

* * *

Raven didn’t visit.

Two weeks passed, and both Victor and Tara came in daily. Kory and Dick came by a few times a week, and he got visits from his other friends every now and then. But the only person who didn’t come to see him was Raven, and though he tried to ignore the sensation of hurt pooling inside him, he couldn’t. It was a mix of emotions—anger, frustration, apathy, hurt, and _love_. Despite everything she’d done, the intense feeling of love remained.

He had always been told he wore his heart on his sleeve. That he got attached to people too quickly, too easily. That he was going to get hurt or taken advantaged of one day. That it would only bring about pain. Garfield had never believed them. Not until now.

Day-by-day, he sat bored on the same bed, barely allowed to get up to stretch his legs. He could only eat soft foods and only drink water. He barely got an hour of television and video games per day. There were several board games set on the bedstand by him, but after a dozen games with both other people and himself, he grew tired of them. He also slept a lot as it seemed to be the only thing he could do.

One night after visiting hours as he was getting ready to go to bed (well he was already there so it was more like he was getting ready to sleep), he heard the door open. He thought it was Lucy at first, and he muttered something about being asleep, but she didn’t answer. He opened his eyes, and what he saw both made his stomach drop and pool with excitement.

“Raven,” he uttered.

She closed the door behind her and approached him slowly as if she were scared to hurt him. He wasn’t sure how to react, so he kept his expression blank.

“I heard you were awake,” she said.

Garfield snickered, but it was rather cold. “What? Now all the sudden you want to visit the sick boy?” he snapped.

Raven didn’t emote as usual. She took a seat on the chair by his bed, her hands clutching so hard to each other than her knuckles were practically turning white. “It’s… complicated,” she replied.

“What? Visiting a friend when he’s in the hospital is complicated?” he laughed. “Raven, even I can come up with better excuses to Ms. Evans.”

“I know it doesn’t excuse my actions,” she admitted. “Gar… I came to-” she stopped in mid-sentence as if contemplating her words. “To…”

“To what? Hurt me some more?” he snarled. “Tell me how glad you are that I’m here because I can’t bother you?”

“No, Gar,” she spoke softly. “To tell you the truth.”

Garfield shut his mouth, and he waited for her to continue, hesitant on whether he could trust her. She had already lied to him once about the so-called truth.

“My father… Is a very bad man,” Raven began.

“Don’t use your family to excuse your actions Raven,” he suddenly blurted out. “Even I don’t do that with Steve, and he’s a jerk.”

Raven shifted in her seat, and she ignored his comment. “He’s involved in some risky business. He uses his persona as Trenton as a way to hide his wrongdoings.” She paused as if taking a breath. “You’ve heard of Trigon, haven’t you?”

Garfield felt his stomach contents start to swirl, “Yeah. One of the worse drug lords and human traffickers in the world. What about him?” He had a bad feeling about her next words, and it was unfortunately correct

“My father…” she looked down. “Is him.”

A dizzying sensation settled inside his head, and Garfield wasn’t sure whether he was going to pass out again. “Trigon… is… Trenton… Your… What?” he stammered.

“You heard me correctly,” she reiterated, her eyes fixated on his so intensely as if she were attempting to read his reaction. “He’s my father. Trenton is Trigon. He hides behind his worldwide business because it’s convenient. What you heard Malchior talking about that day… He wasn’t talking about alcohol. He was talking about victims of human trafficking.”

Garfield was completely stumped. He wasn’t sure what to say. Finding out your friend and crush was being abused was one thing, finding out she was also the daughter of a worldwide crime lord was on another level.

“I didn’t want you to come to my house or to find out more about me because I’m dangerous Gar. I’m extremely dangerous, and my destiny… It’s already set. There’s nothing I can do to escape my father’s influence. That’s exactly why we can’t be together,” she continued.

“But… Can’t we go to the police? You can’t live like that! He hurts you! He’s a criminal! He’s-”

“A demon, but I’m the daughter of a demon,” she replied. “Gar, I’ve done things in life I regret, from a very young age. My father’s influence has already corrupted me. Going to the police would be useless, both because I’m turning myself in and because Trigon isn’t so easy to capture. He has eyes and ears everywhere. He’s evaded the cops for decades now. A teenage girl running into a police station and telling them her dad is Trigon?” she scoffed and looked down at her lap. “It’s futile.”

“You’re not a bad person Rae,” Garfield assured her, his hand gently grabbing hers and caressing it.

“You don’t know that Garfield,” she muttered. Her eyes locked with his own. “You don’t know that. It’s what I make people think. It’s what I’m good at because I have to be. In my world, it’s how survival works.”

“Rae,” he whispered. “You can’t do this alone.”

“Pulling someone else into this,” she sighed. “Someone like you. Someone with a family, friends, a good life. It’d be a homicide.”

“But why can’t you have those things?” he squeaked, his voice utterly defeated. He already knew the answer.

“You already know why, Gar,” she smiled, but it didn’t make him happy. “You made me happy, at least for a little while. You made me forget about everything even for a few moments, even when you acted like an idiot. I’ll never forget you for that, Gar,” she grasped his hand tightly.

He wasn’t sure what compelled him to do what he did next, but his lips crashed into hers desperately as if it were a goodbye. His hands clutched the sides of her waist, pulling her closer, aching to embrace her, to touch her, to love her, and to assure her that everything would be alright. But that was a lie.

Their lips moved against each other’s hungrily—like they’d been starved from affection for long enough. It was a longer, more passionate, more heated kiss than the first. The world seemingly stopped around them, and they forgot about everything. Their lives. Their problems. Their insecurities. Their faults. Everything was gone. It was only the two of them.

They pulled away practically gasping for air. Garfield sent her his usual goofy grin, and Raven smiled at him. A genuine smile that sent shivers all across his body. A smile solely dedicated to him.

“Wow…” he only managed. “You look so beautiful when you smile,” he confessed.

Raven’s face turned crimson, and she cleared her throat, her eyes looking anywhere but at him. He found it cute.

Then he laughed, and Raven furrowed her eyebrows. “What’s so funny?” she asked with narrowed eyes.

“I don’t know…” he shrugged. “It’s just that we’re both kind of fucked up in our own ways, and it’s weird… The fact that we found each other. You said that we weren’t compatible, that we were so different, but really, we’re not that different, Rae. We’re both so…”

“ _Broken_ ,” she finished for him.

“Yeah, broken sounds like the right word,” he chuckled.

“Well…” she thought for a moment. “There’s always that saying.”

“Which one?”

“Light shines brighter through a broken glass, and I think that really fits you, Gar,” she smiled.

Garfield let out a small laugh, “Rae, I don’t think you’re too far from that either. No matter what you think, I think you have a good heart. No, wait. I _know_ you do.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, why else would you have let me into your life?”

“Garfield, I practically tried to push you out of it countless times,” she rolled her eyes.

“Good thing I’m stubborn, huh?” he grinned. “But I feel like, you could have easily set me in my place. Said something really mean from the beginning, completely ignored me, or humiliated me. But you didn’t, Rae. You put up with me. I call that a good heart.”

Raven laughed, and it was the most heavenly sound his ears had ever heard. He almost didn’t catch her sentence because he was so baffled by her laugh. “You see too much good in everyone Gar. It might get you killed someday.”

“I’m already set to die,” he joked. “I think it’s a good thing. Without it, I wouldn’t have had the guts to approach you after all.”

“That’s true…” she nodded. “Gar, I hope you find a nice girl in the future.”

“I hope I don’t,” he retorted with a grin.

Raven’s eyebrows scrunched up in befuddlement, “Why-”

“I already found one, Rae,” he grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. He planted a light kiss on it and he murmured, “And I’ll wait until she can see that too.”

Raven sighed, but she didn’t argue with him. Not this time.

For a moment, an expression of hurt passed through her eyes, but it was so fleeting he barely caught it. When she smiled again, he simply decided to let it pass. He wished he hadn’t.

She left a few minutes later, stating that she had snuck in and that she didn’t want to get caught. They kissed for one last time before she rushed out of the room, and Garfield slipped into a deep slumber in which he dreamt of them rocking on a hammock together watching the waves of a beautiful beach, her head buried in the crook of his neck and their hands clasped.

The next day, Victor showed up early in the morning, which wasn’t his usual time. He brought a box of chocolates as Garfield had insisted he snuck some in. After all, he hadn’t had sweets or junk food in almost a month. They talked a bit about how school was going, how they now sat with the whole crew in their old cafeteria table, how Dick and Kory were practically attached at the hip.

When they were finally done with their chat and after a rather intense game of checkers, Victor got up to leave as he had to help his dad with some business at the shop. They said their goodbyes, and before Victor could walk out, Garfield exclaimed, “Say hi to Raven for me,” with a goofy smile.

Victor froze in place, and he turned to look at him, his expression blank, “Huh?”

“I said to say hi to Raven,” he repeated.

Victor fumbled with the doorknob for a few moments before his mouth opened to answer, “Gar… I don’t want to break it to you like this but… Raven left yesterday.”

Garfield stared at him, “What do you mean?”

“She was set to leave,” he explained. “Something about a family emergency.”

“... What..?” he gaped.

“I’m sorry, man. They told us she unenrolled from the school, that she wasn’t coming back for next year. We were all pretty disappointed. She didn’t even say goodbye. I can’t tell you how much Kory cried about it.”

Garfield had stopped listening halfway through the sentence, and he could only hear alarms blaring inside his mind. He grasped the sheets of his bed, tears forming at the corners of his eyes, but he contained them. She had come to visit him. She had come to visit him to say goodbye. It was why she had told him the truth. Why she had kissed him so passionately. Why she had chosen not to argue with him this time.

She was gone, possibly forever.

“Gar… Are you okay?” Victor approached the bed.

“Just… Give me some time alone Vic, please,” he begged, his voice losing its momentum.

“Okay…” Victor murmured, his eyes full of concern. He glanced at him for one last time before walking out and closing the door behind him.

“Rae…” Garfield murmured, tears trailing down his cheeks. He didn’t recognize the aching feeling surrounding his heart or the sickening sensation inside his gut, and he hated it. Why had he been such an idiot? She had obviously come to say goodbye, but he had been so blinded by his delight of seeing her, he hadn’t realized. And now she was gone, and it felt like someone had dropped a boulder on top of Garfield and stabbed a knife through his chest.

It hurt. It hurt _so much_.

Needless to say, he wasn’t very excited when he was released from the hospital, and everyone could only wonder why. During his last week of Junior year, he spent most of his time moping, dazing off in class, playing with his food, and simply staring off. Thinking about her. Why she had left.

Then came their last day. Garfield walked into English early for once and took a seat next to Victor. His best friend watched him intently, his expression twisted with concern, but he didn’t say anything. They had already asked enough times, and besides, Victor knew why he was upset.

Garfield spent his time staring out the window, and he noticed for the first time, that the elderly lady who usually crossed the street around the same time was gone. He wasn’t sure why, but even that set off an unsettling feeling inside his stomach, and it made him feel even more horrendous. He looked away, too uncomfortable with the view, and he settled with staring at his fingers, deep in thought.

He found himself smiling at the memory of meeting Raven. When he had run into her that first day, all of the awkward moments they’d had, all of the times he had annoyed her to gain her attention, he remembered every detail. God, he was going to miss her so much.

But despite the feeling of desolation her departure had left him with, he held onto a much more intense sensation. One that fueled him through every passing day, one that revitalized him every morning, that chipped away at the pain little by little. A feeling that had nurtured him throughout his life, and one that would continue to nurture him for the years to come. One that he’d wished Raven had had, for she might’ve stayed with him if she did. She might’ve accepted his offer to run away together or it might’ve just brightened her life even by a teensy bit despite it being a shithole.

Hope.

Because after all, as Raven had told him, light shines brighter through a _Broken_ glass, and hope could only revitalize that first spark.

* * *

 

 

**_Many Years Later..._ **

 

 

“Is she ready?”

“Been in training for months now, ready to be dispatched.”

“I must say, Logan, I’m impressed. A K9 officer at twenty-six isn’t common, much less one with expertise on animal behavior.”

“Well, double majors do have their perks,” he let out a hearty chuckle.

“Double major? Impressive. I wouldn’t be surprised if you end up in the major ranks before you hit your mid-thirties.”

Garfield grinned but didn’t say anything. The vehicle came to a halt outside the target premise. A couple of police cars were already parked at the sight, along with another K9 unit. He spotted Dick already directing a few of his apprentices. Even from the distance, he emitted the sort of authoritative and leadership aura he had since high school, and the newbies appeared to be terrified of the guy. Then again, if Garfield hadn’t known Dick since high school, he would’ve also been intimidated by a guy who rose up the law enforcement ranks faster than his own mentor had.

After spotting Garfield, Dick quickly wrapped up his conversation and strolled towards him. Garfield greeted him with the usual goofy smile he had donned throughout his high school career. Besides his higher education, muscular frame, taller height, and his newfound respect from many of the rookies as well as some of the higher up’s of the law enforcement track like Mr. Queen, Garfield hadn’t changed much. He held the same mischievous spark that made him one of a kind, except it now served as his charisma and the ladies adored it.

“Ready?”

“Yep,” Garfield nodded as he unlatched the back door. “Blue, come here girl,” he called the burly, long-haired, dark German Shepard down from the vehicle.

She hopped down with her usual effortless and lavish demeanor (she was quite the diva after all) flaunting off her new K9 unit vest. Garfield had been assigned to the dog almost a year prior. Though he hadn’t originally planned on pursuing a Criminal Justice degree during high school, he found himself with an odd desire to do so after graduating. By the time Dick had suggested he pair it with his Animal Behavior degree and train for a K9 officer position, there hadn’t been a doubt in his mind. It had been the best decision Garfield had taken considering he adored the job, and he especially loved having Blue as his partner in crime (well, technically _partner in law_ ).

Today was Blue’s first official and serious assignment as a fresh graduate from the K9 academy, and she looked to be as thrilled as Garfield was.

“Ready, girl?” he caressed the thick coat on her neck. He took the torn blouse Dick held out to him and raised it to Blue’s nose. Then, he took a deep breath before announcing the long over-due phrase. “Search!” he commanded, and Blue rushed forwards, her nose buried on the ground in search of the missing girl’s scent.

Blue led them past the abandoned warehouse and towards the woods behind it. They struggled through the thick branches and bushes, Blue’s face practically hidden below the greenery. After walking almost a mile away from their arrival destination, Blue came to a halt and sniffed around a particular spot on the ground.

“Find something, girl?” Garfield asked.

Blue sat down and looked up at him. Dick and Garfield exchanged glances.

Dick kneeled down and traced a hand across the dirt, soon discovering that it was obscuring a wooden trapdoor beneath. Once he was able to find a handle, he opened the trapdoor. It revealed a sort of sewer system below, and once the command was given, Blue didn’t hesitate on hopping down, landing gracefully on her paws as she did. They continued to follow the trace with their flashlights until they finally ran into a hidden door amidst the darkness.

Dick hurriedly opened it up and silently signaled for the officers behind him to follow. The room was lit up by a few candles, and upon turning the corner, they found them: five girls, ages ten to nineteen, all crammed in a corner with tape over their mouths and limbs tied together with thick rope. Their expressions were that of utter fear.

They wasted no time in untying them and providing medical help to the ones who required it.

“It’s alright. You’re okay now,” Garfield consoled a smaller girl whose eyes were wide with terror as she watched another trail of policemen burst through the doors.

Upon helping all of the girls out of the sewer, Dick began to question one of the girls on who had held them captive. Garfield stood to the side on his knees and running his hands through Blue’s fur to reward her.

“There were two men who came in often… They brought in food, and they escorted us to the restrooms. We were originally kept in this big house but they moved us here after a while. I’m not sure why… They didn’t come to feed us or watch us, they just disappeared… We thought we were going to die,” the oldest girl explained, her eyes shut tightly and tears forming at the brims. She took a moment to inhale a calming breath before continuing. “They had a leader, a tall man with white hair and light skin.” Garfield looked up, the description igniting a familiar resentment within his gut. “They never mentioned anyone’s names… They went by code names. Dragon, Bull, Gorilla… those are the few I remember. Then there’s the one they mentioned most often. I think it was… T-trigon. That’s… That’s everything I know.”

Garfield clenched his fists, the fire abruptly dispersing across his whole body and sending waves of outrage throughout. He hadn’t heard the name in a long time, since his unfortunate last meeting with Raven. The day he hadn’t been able to wipe out from his memory.

“Thank you, Melany. Your information is really helpful. We’ll do everything we can to avenge your captors. We’re going to send you off to your family and place you under surveillance. You’re safe now. I promise,” Dick placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, and the girl slowly nodded. He sent her off with Mr. Queen who led the girls to the vehicle they’d be sent home on.

“Trigon,” Dick repeated while scribbling something on his notebook.

“Why do you think they left them here?” Garfield questioned as he righted himself.

“My guess? Trigon wanted them gone for whatever reason, and he ordered his pawns to leave them stranded somewhere they wouldn’t be found or couldn’t escape,” he theorized. “They didn’t count on us having this place under surveillance after they reported it for suspicious activity. Unless it was a set-up, that they wanted us to find them,” he clenched his fists and shook his head, “All we have left is to catch that son of a bitch, but he’s practically a ghost in the system. If only we could have one clue. It’d be all it could take to finally bust him.”

Garfield breathed in, knowing full-well what he was about to disclose could change everything. He looked around, making sure there wasn’t anyone else close enough to hear. “Dick, I think I might have some valuable information, but it’s going to need a lot of further investigation.”

“About?” Dick raised an intrigued eyebrow and crossed his arms.

“About Trigon’s identity,” he stated. Dick stared at Garfield with an unreadable expression, a sign that he was waiting for him to elaborate. Garfield sighed, “I have a suspicion that Trigon’s true identity could be Trenton Roth.”

**To be continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sequel in the works. Stay tuned!


End file.
